（Chiu-lung Huang, Adjunct Associate Professor of Department of Public Security at the Central Police University）
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Xi Jinping spoke with US President Joe Biden on the phone at the request of the latter on April 2, 2024. It is worth noticing that Xi mentioned a future-oriented San Francisco vision during the phone call (Xi attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in San Francisco on November 15, 2023. In addition to his meeting with Biden, Xi also met with American business leaders at a dinner). Xi pointed out that "the China-US relationship is beginning to stabilize, and this is welcomed by both societies and the international community.” Xi, in a rare event, met with representatives from American business, strategic and academic communities in Beijing on March 27. Serving as a U.S. subnational diplomacy actor, the delegation not only met with Xi for a return visit to last year's San Francisco dinner but also scheduled their trip on the eve of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's visit to China. Obviously, China’s current diplomatic toolbox features a combination of the head-of-state diplomacy, state-level economic and trade policy issues and sub-national diplomacy.
Xi met with more than twenty representatives from American business, strategic and academic communities, including Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR), Stephen Orlins, President of the NCUSCR, Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group, Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm, Graham Allison, founding dean of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and Craig Allen, President of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC). Based on international media reports, Xi's meeting with the delegation deviated from the tradition that such meetings are the responsibility of the premier, who is in charge of economic issues. And there were even comments speculating that Premier Li Qiang did not want to steal the spotlight from Xi.
It is noticeable that Wang Yi, member of the Politburo, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister, also attended the meeting. Wang Yi is an advocate and active promoter of “comprehensively promoting diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, taking the strategic initiative, adopting flexible tactics and continuously enhancing China’s diplomatic toolbox.” Beijing is trying to attract foreign investment back to China and seeking to restore confidence in its economy and maintain a stable relationship with the United States. International companies are also looking for assurances from China’s new regulations and hoping that Beijing would resolve their concerns about inconsistent regulatory oversight targeting foreign companies and rising business risks in China. It is obvious that China is actively using American companies and international organizations in its subnational diplomatic toolbox for subnational diplomacy operations to advance geopolitical and military goals. In doing so, China even challenges the conventional concept of diplomatic relations.
Xi met with U.S. business leaders at a dinner, co-hosted by the USCBC and the NCUSCR, in San Francisco last November. Allen and Orlins, presidents of the two associations, also participated in the meeting with Xi on March 27, while foreign guests from other countries attending the China Development Forum (CDF) on March 24 were not invited to meet with Xi. One day before their meeting with Xi, Greenberg and Orlens met with Wang Yi on March 26. Wang Yi mentioned the dinner in San Francisco last November and expressed hope that the NCUSCR will "play a constructive role in promoting the sound and steady development of China-US relations." Orlens told the Global Times when he attended the CDF on March 24 that the U.S.-China relations have gotten off from the rock bottom. The number of CEOs of U.S. multinationals attending the CDF saw a large increase compared to last year. This reflects that China can still "focus on its neighbors and major powers, take developing countries as the foundation and use multilateral fora as the stage" even as it is facing an anti-China alliance in the international community. It is obviously related to China’s subnational diplomatic efforts to advance its political goals.
The U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a "Safeguarding Our Future” bulletin titled Protecting Government and Business Leaders at the U.S. State and Local Level from People’s Republic of China (PRC) Influence Operations on July 6, 2022. The bulletin pointed out that the Chinese government has sought to exploit business and cultural ties forged for decades with leaders at the state and local levels of the United States to advance its geopolitical and military goals. U.S. state and local leaders are urged to exercise vigilance against Beijing's subnational influence operations. It is evident that China is using subnational diplomacy to advance its political objectives, military operations and security interests at the national level. From the perspective of vital national security and interests, countries around the world should be alert to related developments.
（Excerpt translated to English by Cindy Li）
