At the end of the ninety minutes that this fascinating journey in international relations lasts, there remains the image of a fierce ping-pong match of which we fear the coup de grace. In 1971, on the occasion of a sporting event in Japan, table tennis had given its name (“ping-pong diplomacy”) to the thaw of diplomatic relations between Washington and Beijing, which had been interrupted twenty-two years earlier. China’s invitation from a delegation of American athletes marked the beginning of a dialogue in which each of the two countries had to find their own account: to get out of isolation for Communist China and to counter Russian influence in Asia for the United States. .
“We will never give up the use of force”
In October 1971, China regained its seat in the UN and its seat on the Security Council of the international organization to the detriment of Taiwan, until then the only representative of the Chinese people at the United Nations. Fifty years later, Taiwan occupies a central place in the heart of the cold war between the two superpowers. “Nobody should think that China will put up with Taiwan independence because Taiwan is Chinese. Both sides of the strait are Chinese “says Victor Gao, spokesman for the Chinese Communist Party, one of the film’s many speakers. On October 16, at the 20th CCP Congress, President Xi Jinping clarified the point on this topic: “We will never give up the use of force. ”
The continuation after the announcement
If China, which is gradually annexing the islands of the China Sea, removes this last essential block of American strategy in the Indo-Pacific, it would have the means to keep Americans at a distance from the continent where it has been applied for years, decades to establish commercial, military and technological dominance. ” Pearl necklace “ maritime, “New Silk Roads” continental wars, military maneuvers, nuclear arsenals or the search for alliances with India and Russia … This well-documented documentary offers a comprehensive look at the Sino-American face-to-face and global geostrategic issues unfolding in the Pacific region today.
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Sunday 30 October at 8:55 pm on France 5. Documentary by Yannick Adam de Villiers (2022). 1h30. (Available in replay on france.tv).
