OPINION — China was very critical of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last week.The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the U.S.action was “blatant interference” in Venezuela and a violation of international law.
Mr. maduro was accused of working with Colombian guerrilla groups to traffic cocaine into the U.S. as part of a “narco-terrorism” conspiracy. of all countries, China should appreciate the need to stop Mr. Maduro from smuggling these illicit drugs into the U.S., killing tens of thousands of Americans. China experienced this in the Opium War of 1839-1842, when Great Britain forced opium on China, despite government protestations, resulting in the humiliating Treaty of Nanjing, ceding Hong Kong to Great Britain. Mr. Maduro was violating U.S. laws,in a conspiracy to aid enemies and kill innocent Americans. Fortunately, the U.S. had the political will,and military might,to quickly and effectively put an end to this assault. China should understand this and withhold criticism, despite their close relationship with Mr. Maduro and Venezuela.
The scheduled April meeting of presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will hopefully ease tension related to the South China sea and Taiwan. The meeting will also offer an opportunity for the two presidents to elaborate on those transnational issues that the U.S. and China can work together on, for the common good.
The National Security Strategy of 2025 states that deterring a conflict over Taiwan is a priority and does not support any unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. It also states that one-third of global shipping passes annually through the South China Sea and its implications for the U.S. economy are obvious.
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The April meeting will permit Messrs. Trump and Xi to candidly discuss the South China Sea and Taiwan and ensure that there are guardrails to prevent conflict. Quiet and effective diplomacy is needed to address these issues, and the Trump – Xi meeting could establish the working groups and processes necessary to ensure the U.S.and China do not stumble into conflict.
Also critically important are the transnational issues that require the attention of the U.S. and China. This shouldn’t be too difficult, given the history of cooperation between the U.S.and China, primarily in the 1980s and 1990s.
Indeed, it was China’s Chairman Deng Xiaoping who approved cooperation with the U.S. on the collection and sharing of intelligence on the Soviet Union.
China opposed the December 1979 Soviet Union invasion of afghanistan and worked with the U.S. to provide weapons and supplies to the resistance forces in Afghanistan – who eventually prevailed, with the Soviet Union admitting defeat and pulling out of Afghanistan in 1989. The war in Afghanistan cost the Soviet Union immense resources, lives and prestige, weakening the Soviet Union and contributing to its later dissolution.
After the 1979 normalization of relations, the U.S. and China cooperated on a few transnational issues: nuclear nonproliferation; counternarcotics, focusing on Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle and the heroin from Burma going into C
