JEFF PAO
California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has been praised by Chinese commentators after he made a series of “pro-China” comments during his trip to the People’s Republic.
Newsom, 56, described by Chinese media as a rising star in US politics, ended his weeklong trip by launching a new climate partnership with Shanghai and touring Tesla’s gigafactory in that city on Sunday.
Some US commentators speculated that Newsom may run in the US presidential elections next year – although he dismissed such speculation in September.
On October 25, he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Vice President Han Zheng. Chinese pundits said it’s worthwhile for top Chinese leaders to meet with Newsom, who said he opposes Taiwan independence and US-China decoupling.
Meanwhile, an unnamed US official told the local media on Saturday that China and the US have agreed in principle to hold a Biden-Xi Summit during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in mid-November. The official said details are still being worked out.
Guan Yao, a commentator of Shenzhen Satellite TV, notes in an article that Newsom has been the first governor in the US to meet with Xi since 2017. He says the Xi-Newsom and Biden-Wang meetings have increased people’s expectations for a Xi-Biden Summit in November.
He says that whether China and the US can effectively cooperate in dealing with global challenges such as climate change and geopolitical conflicts will all depend on the highest level of cooperation between the two heads of state.
‘No divorce’
Between October 22 and 30, Newsom visited Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu to promote cooperation between China and the US.
During his meeting with Xi, Newsom was allowed to sit side by side with the Chinese leader. When US State Secretary Antony Blinken met with Xi in May, he sat opposite to some Chinese officials while Xi was in the center, showing a more superior position than Blinken.
“China’s high-level treatment for Newsom must have made Blinken very envious,” a Jiangxi-based writer says in an article published on Monday. “What did Newsom do? It’s very simple. He only gave the US an important reminder.”
The writer says the California governor helped remind Washington that if China is successful, the US will become even more successful. He says Newsom also highlighted that the two countries are not having a zero sum game.
After a meeting with Xi, Newsom told CNN that his meeting with Xi had revived hope that Sino-US relations are at a turning point.
“We’ve got to manage our strategic differences. We’ve got to reconcile our strategic red lines,” he said, adding that “divorce is not an option” when it comes to the world’s two largest economies.
During a meeting with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on October 25, Newsom said China has achieved impressive development, especially in the field of new energy.
He also discussed Taiwan issues with Wang in a meeting.
“I expressed my support for the One-China policy … as well as our desire not to see independence,” he said.
According to the One-China policy, the Chinese Communist Party wants foreign countries to recognize it as the ruling government of China. In 1979, the US enacted the Taiwan Relations Act that defined the officially substantial but non-diplomatic relations between the US and Taiwan.
Long-term investment
“China gave Newsom a high-level treatment as it wanted to show a friendly gesture to to US society, as well as having a ‘long-term investment’ in him,” says a Shandong-based columnist, who calls the US politician a rising star.
The writer says Newsom has made a great step towards becoming the “future president” with this China trip. He says Newsom may not enjoy a lot of power now but he will be much more influential if he becomes the US President.
While Newsom was praised in China, he was criticized by his political opponents, including Republican California State Assembly Leader James Gallagher, for spending time on climate change dicussions in China, instead of local issues such as poverty and crime.
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