My Take | Neither the US nor China seem intent on meaningful diplomacy

If what passes for diplomacy between China and the United States is any indication these days, we are all in real trouble. One side seems to prefer dealing with former leaders rather than current ones. The other just likes to talk, while piling on coercive measures. Dialogue is not the same as diplomacy; it’s worse when it sounds more like a monologue.

Beijing may be having a bout of nostalgia. Who wouldn’t miss the times when Rodrigo Duterte was the friendly leader in the Philippines? Or when secret diplomacy with Henry Kissinger changed the world and launched China on the way to become a global power?

While both men still have undeniable influence in their own countries, it is no substitute for talking to the current leaders.

It’s true that Duterte’s daughter Sara is the country’s vice-president and she is allied with Imee Marcos in a faction within the Philippine government that has been openly critical of the foreign policy of the latter’s brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr.

In a major policy reversal, he will allow the US military to access more bases in the country, though he has promised not to let them be used as forward bases against China in the event of an armed conflict such as over Taiwan. Hardly a reassurance to Beijing, though.

But in the end, if Beijing wants to counter Marcos Jnr’s tilt towards Washington, it will have to deal with him directly, not his predecessor.

In the past two months, one after another, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and climate tsar John Kerry all took turns visiting China. Yet, none was received with greater enthusiasm than the great Henry Kissinger, aged 100.

Surely the famous and former secretary of state understands Chinese thinking like the back of his hand. But it’s those other current officials in charge whom Beijing needs to get its messages across to. So far, the two sides are talking past each other.