At a press conference on the evening of May 11 local time, He Lifeng, the Chinese lead representative for the talks and Vice Premier of the State Council, described the US-China trade talks over the past weekend as “candid, in-depth, and constructive,” adding that the two sides had “reached important consensus and made substantive progress.” Both parties agreed to establish a consultation mechanism on China-U.S. economic and trade issues, and will finalize the relevant details as soon as possible. A joint statement outlining the outcomes of the talks is scheduled for release on May 12.

So far, neither side has disclosed substantial content from the talks. But we can get a glimpse of Beijing’s assessment of the meeting by closely examining the diplomatic phrases it carefully chose- “candid, in-depth, and constructive”.

Deciphering these official and ambiguous diplomatic terms is an art not unfamiliar in China. For example, “candid” often implies disagreement or argument; “in-depth” suggests that sensitive issues were discussed; and “constructive” typically means no concrete results were achieved, but communication can continue.

Whether this interpretation applies to the current talks remains unclear. But we can tentatively test it against China’s past two dialogues with the U.S., which were also described as “candid, in-depth, and constructive”. Both dialogues involved grave disputes that required serious effort from both sides-a forecast, if anything, of future US-China trade talks.

On July 9, 2022, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken after attending the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bali.

On July 9, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

According to the statement released by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the meeting, the two sides held a “comprehensive, in-depth, candid, and lengthy” exchange.

During the five-hour marathon meeting, Wang Yi presented the U.S. side with four “lists”: a list of U.S. wrongdoings that must be corrected, a list of key individual cases of concern to China, a list of major China-related legislative concerns, and a list of eight areas for China-U.S. cooperation. China expressed hope that the U.S. would take these issues seriously.

In addition, from August 27 to 28, 2024, Wang Yi held a new round of strategic communication in Beijing with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. The official statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs again used the terms “candid, substantive, and constructive discussions” to describe the meeting.

From August 27 to 28, 2024, Wang Yi held a new round of strategic communication in Beijing with Jake Sullivan, during which they had candid, substantive, and constructive discussions.

During that meeting, Wang Yi addressed multiple sensitive issues between China and the U.S.

On the Taiwan issue, Wang urged the U.S. to “honor its commitment of not supporting ‘Taiwan independence,’ adhere to the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, cease arms sales to Taiwan, and support China’s peaceful reunification.” He also stated, “The U.S. should stop suppressing China in the fields of economy, trade, and technology, and refrain from undermining China’s legitimate interests. Using so-called ‘overcapacity’ as a pretext for protectionism will only harm global green development and hinder world economic growth.”

Wang also raised the South China Sea issue, stressing that the U.S. should not use bilateral treaties as a pretext to undermine China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, nor support or condone the Philippines in taking provocative or infringing actions.

With less than 12 hours remaining before the anticipated release of the results from the latest China-U.S. talks, it remains to be seen what new evidence this may add to the interpretation of China’s diplomatic language.

Editor: Zhongxiaowen