On December 6, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Blinken at request. Wang Yi spoke on the phone with Blinken

How to understand this call near the end of the year, in Tan's view, there are three important signals worth paying attention to.

Signal 1: China-Us relations have reached a critical juncture

The phone call came about three weeks after the US-China meeting in San Francisco. This phone call will be followed by the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States in about three weeks.

Such a special time corresponds to a key issue. The two countries need to step up implementation of the consensus reached at the San Francisco meeting between the two presidents, strengthen dialogue and cooperation in various fields, and realize the new vision of China-Us relations.

Gao Fei, vice president of China Foreign Affairs University, noted that Blinken expressed thanks to Wang Yi for condoling Kissinger at the US Embassy in China in a phone call.

In the Chinese press release, Tan also noted a sentence, "He (Kissinger) left a diplomatic legacy worthy of future generations to carry forward and develop."

Although Kissinger is also a realist who considers issues from the perspective of American interests, this does not prevent him from becoming a key player in shaping future Sino-American relations.

In response, Zhu Feng, executive dean of the School of International Relations at Nanjing University, shared with Tan an article he just wrote. In the process of dealing with China, Kissinger formed a correct understanding of Chinese culture and the "view of the world" of Chinese civilization.

Kissinger emphasized that regions and countries with different cultures, histories, and traditional theories of order can, in fact, maintain common interests, order, and values under the concept and policy structure of mutual respect, openness, and inclusiveness.

Forty-five years ago, China and the United States were able to establish diplomatic relations against the backdrop of the Cold War.

Today, the United States needs to continue to learn from the older generation of politicians the wisdom of getting along with each other, start by implementing the consensus reached at the San Francisco Summit, and return to the right track of China-Us relations.

Signal two: A double warning to the US on Taiwan

In the message released by the phone call, China has clearly put forward its solemn position on the Taiwan issue regarding bilateral relations. Specifically, two "must not" demands were made to the United States:

No interference in China's internal affairs

We must not support and connive with any "Taiwan independence" forces

An important background for China to say this is that the United States has recently made some eager gestures around the latest developments on the island.

From the perspective of action, the US side on the one hand declared that external forces should not interfere in the 2024 election in Taiwan, on the other hand, the "American Institute in Taiwan" is hyping the issue of Cross-Strait relations.

At the same time, the United States is sending P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft through the Taiwan Strait, and it is deploying medium-range missiles in the Western Pacific region, posing a posture to support Taiwan.

In response to such interference, China has given a clear attitude, one is to take firm countermeasures, and the other is to warn the United States that no one or any force can stop the settlement of the Taiwan issue.

In July this year, Kissinger, who just celebrated his 100th birthday, during his last visit to China, specifically mentioned the Taiwan issue that under the current circumstances, the principles set out in the "Shanghai Communique" should be observed and the extreme importance of the One-China principle for China should be understood.

With regard to "Taiwan independence", China's attitude is even clearer: "Taiwan independence" is a dead end.

Both the United States and the island should clearly recognize the cost of "Taiwan independence." In the United States, there are also some voices warning against the "Taiwan independence" forces.

Just a few days ago, three prominent China experts published an article in Foreign Affairs, a well-known US publication in the field of foreign affairs, warning that the Taiwan authorities should freeze the "Taiwan independence Party platform."

The three scholars, Robert Ke, a professor at Columbia University, Bonnie Glaser, director of the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund, and Jay Bai, a professor of political science at Cornell University, all happen to be part of a working group on Taiwan. Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Susan Shirk is a co-chair of the panel.

For two days, Shirk was in China for a debate on Taiwan with Wu Xinbo, an American expert at Fudan University, in which he shared the view that American actions should be matched by a commitment not to support Taiwan independence in order to reduce China's suspicion of the United States.

The US does need to match its words with actions to reduce the world's suspicion of it.

During the telephone conversation, the two sides also exchanged views on the Palestinian-Israeli issue. One detail is that at the time of the call, Blinken had just finished his third trip to the Middle East since the current round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Tan found that Blinken had maintained close contact with the Chinese side in each of his trips to the Middle East.

On the first and third occasions, Blinken spoke on the phone with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and each time, Blinken would say that he and China supported the two-state solution.

In addition, under the auspices of China, the UN Security Council once again passed a resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli issue after a lapse of seven years, calling for a ceasefire and the protection of civilians, which is the biggest progress made by the UN on the Palestinian-Israeli issue so far after the outbreak of the current round of conflict.

Since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, China has always emphasized the principle of protecting civilians, ceasefire and cessation of war, and also stressed that major powers should maintain a fair and just stance, which has continued from China's rotating presidency of the United Nations throughout November.

On his first trip to the Middle East, Blinken was still putting unilateral pressure on the Palestinians; On his second trip to the Middle East, his priorities had become "protecting civilians, increasing humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, and preventing the conflict from spreading into the wider region"; This time, Blinken has begun to emphasize that the Israeli military should consider humanitarian and civilian protection needs.

Subtle changes in the United States convey the reality that China and the United States must strengthen coordination on global issues.

It also confirms the question we often say:

When China and the United States are stable, the world is secure.