On Saturday, October 5th, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs unexpectedly posted a message on their website claiming that “Biden sent congratulatory message to Xi Jinping.” Analysts believe that by releasing this message 5 days after the National Day celebrations, Beijing is trying to create a false “congratulatory” atmosphere, showing the awkward situation in Sino-US relations after deteriorating.
As of Saturday evening, the White House had not issued any official statement regarding Biden’s message.
In response to this, current affairs commentator Yang Wei told Epoch Times, “It is unbelievable that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is currently on vacation, suddenly released such a message. There is no similar statement on the White House website, making it difficult to confirm whether it was Biden himself who called or someone from his staff.”
Yang Wei believes that “regardless, a delayed congratulatory call after 5 days is very abnormal. The message issued by the Chinese Communist Party probably aims to convey Biden’s personal greetings or congratulations to Xi Jinping. This is where the top leaders in Zhongnanhai really want to focus.”
Moreover, this year, the U.S. State Department also deviated from the diplomatic tradition of sending formal congratulations before the National Day celebrations.
On October 3rd, at 8 a.m. Beijing time, the U.S. State Department published a congratulatory message from Secretary of State Antony Blinken on its website. In the past two years, according to South China Morning Post, the U.S. State Department did the same on September 29, 2023, and September 30, 2022.
Yang Wei believes that the intentional delay in the State Department’s statement this year, made public on October 3rd, should be coordinated with actions from the White House. This is a big embarrassment for the Chinese Communist Party, but after much contemplation, they decided to reveal it, indicating an extremely unusual political atmosphere in Beijing.
Yang Wei stated, “Rumors abound in the outside world that the leader of the Chinese Communist Party may be losing power and authority, and at such a time, they urgently need such messages, using Biden to endorse the party leader. However, a delayed congratulatory message after 5 days raises suspicions.”
“If the White House did indeed call Beijing and intentionally delayed it by 5 days, it would be tantamount to humiliating Zhongnanhai. However, the CCP, despite the potential humiliation, still awkwardly announced it. They likely tried to manipulate the message to create a false congratulatory atmosphere and potentially help the CCP leader out of a predicament.”
In recent years, China’s wolf warrior diplomacy, military provocations and expansions in the surrounding regions, and U.S. sanctions on China in trade and technology sectors, combined with joint efforts by allies to contain China’s military ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region have led to the continued deterioration of U.S.-China relations.
The most recent direct communication between the two presidents was in April this year when they had a phone call discussing issues such as cyber security and climate change. Their last face-to-face meeting took place nearly a year ago in November of last year during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco.
On October 1st, China conducted military exercises in the controversial South China Sea. Prior to this, navies from the U.S., Philippines, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand held joint drills in the region.
Yang Wei believes that “this precisely reflects the awkward situation between the White House and Zhongnanhai after the deterioration of U.S.-China relations, and also indirectly reveals the intense infighting within the CCP that they are finding difficult to conceal. Something major may be happening in Beijing, or might have already occurred, and the White House may be in possession of intelligence, which prompted them to intentionally act in this manner.”