Who is Yang Jiechi, “Tiger Shi” who deals with the United States

“The United States has no right to address China as if it was speaking from a position of strength“A year ago, around this time, all the lights were on Alaska, as the Anchorage Summit between Washington and Beijing took place. At one point in the talks, Yang JiechiThe head of the Chinese delegation raised the tone, noting to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that the balance of power between China and the United States had changed. That is, from that moment on, China should have been treated in a completely different way.

Shi Hawk

Here is Yang Jiechi, in Rome, twelve months after the explosion that made him famous even to the common man. On the occasion of the important diplomatic meeting held in Italy between the Chinese and American delegation, Mr. Yang called “Xi Jinping’s hawk– He led the “Team China” with his usual experience. In front of him, in the prestigious venue of the Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria in Rome, there was nothing less than Jake SullivanNational Security Adviser of the United States.

But who really is Yang Jiechi? His role, on paper, coincides with a role Director of the Office of the Central Committee for Foreign Affairs (COVA)a position he has held since 2013. He is also a member of political office, or the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, a small body that supervises and controls the party itself. From 2013 to 2018, he was State Counselor of the People’s Republic of China, while from 2007 to 2013 he held the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. From 2001 to 2005 he was China’s ambassador to the United States.

importance of yang

One might wonder why, even in the recent past, China sent Yang Jiechi and not Wang Yi, the current foreign minister, to high-ranking leadership. The explanation is simple. In Beijing, the “head” of diplomacy, or in any case the person who weaves high-level diplomatic networks, does not correspond with the foreign minister or the foreign minister, but with the state advisor in charge of international affairs. The position held by Mr. Yang until recently, is now Director of COFA.

However, the existence of what may be considered the cornerstone of Xi’s foreign policy in Rome may also be explained by another reason. Yang has long been running American fileIt deals with relations between the United States and China. He did this many times in the Trump presidency and still does today.

In foreign policy it is described as “FalconYet he has repeatedly shown that he knows how to prepare the diplomatic ground for high-level meetings (videoconferencing between Joe Biden and Xi is emblematic). Yang’s presence in Rome certainly suggests that China, if it were to act as an effective mediator with Russia, could It asks the United States for guarantees on tariffs and the Indo-Pacific region, two critical issues in Sino-US relations.