Kerry and Chinese Ambassador Strike Different Tones Ahead of Beijing Meetings

This story has been corrected. 

Secretary of State John Kerry and the Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, are offering generally positive assessments of the U.S.-China relationship ahead of an important economic summit in Beijing later this month. Below the surface, though, clear divisions remain. 

Kerry’s speech Tuesday at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies stressed that Washington hoped for greater cooperation with China. His tone was optimistic and hinted at possibilities for closer ties between the two superpowers in the years ahead.

"America’s China policy is really built on two pillars: Constructively managing our differences — and there are differences — and just as constructively coordinating our efforts on the wide range of issues where our interests are aligned," Kerry said.

Kerry said that the two countries had shared interests that went beyond the economic and commercial. "As China pursues interests well beyond the Asia Pacific, there is both opportunity and necessity to coordinate our efforts to address global security concerns," he added. 

The secretary of state’s comments weren’t entirely positive, however. Kerry criticized China for its cyber espionage efforts and human rights records, both topics that are regular talking points for senior U.S. officials.

In an interview with Foreign Policy last week, days before Kerry’s address, Cui said Beijing was just as open to greater cooperation with the U.S. China, he said "was ready to work" with the U.S. in the fight against the Islamic State and sought stronger military-to-military ties more generally.

"There is no confrontation like we had in the Cold War years," he said. "It’s quite clear to us that if China and the United States can work together, we’ll both be winners."

Like Kerry, though, Cui found things to criticize, including, surprisingly, America’s electoral system.

"In the United States, you could have somebody just a few years ago totally unknown to others, and all of a sudden he or she could run for very high office because you use all kinds of media. You have all these Super PACs, or the money to support him or her," he said. "But in China, it takes much longer to win the hearts and mind of the people. You really have to work all the way up to the top."

Cui also criticized the American press and implied that the State Department was behind democracy promotion efforts in Hong Kong.

The comments from two men come as U.S. and Chinese diplomats try to build a relationship that preserves the economic cooperation between the two countries while acknowledging that they’re rivals on an array of diplomatic and security issues. This tension is most evident in the ongoing cyber sparring between the two sides.

In May, Beijing suspended a U.S.-China cyber working group, which brought together officials from both countries. The move came after U.S. authorities indicted five Chinese military officers on charges of cyber spying.

China "did not walk away from the table," Cui said in the interview. "What the United States did was basically tear down this table, destroy this table. They need to restore confidence."

Kerry was equally pessimistic about progress on cyber issues. But Kerry addressed it in terms of economic opportunity, saying "foreign companies will invest more in China if they can be confident that when they do their intellectual property will be safeguarded.

"We do not agree to disagree when it comes to cyber issues. We’ve been very clear about how strongly we object to any cyber-enabled theft of trade secrets and other sensitive information from our companies, whoever may be doing it," Kerry added.

Kerry’s speech also comes as Asian Pacific allies are questioning America’s commitment to them. Kerry said the entire region is a priority for the White House. That may have sounded like empty rhetoric to Cui and others given that on Monday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel unexpectedly canceled a trip to the region, a visit widely seen a reassurance to regional allies concerned about Chinese territorial grabs.

"The Asia Pacific is one of the most promising places on the planet, and America’s future and security and prosperity are closely and increasingly linked to that region," Kerry said. The American pivot to Asia "is an inclusive invitation to join in this march towards prosperity, dignity, and stability for countries. I can reaffirm today that the Obama administration is absolutely committed to seeing through all of these goals."

*Correction, Nov. 5, 2014. An earlier version of this article wrongly implied that Cui’s comments came in response to Kerry’s speech. The Chinese ambassador’s remarks actually came from an interview conducted last week.