The U.S. and China have a culture clash around their telephone hotline

BEIJING – The important US-China political relationship is vulnerable to cultural differences – such as why the phone is not picked up.

After the US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon this month, China’s defense ministry suspended calls with its US counterpart, according to statements from both sides.

This is not the first time China has not answered the phone – a hotline set up for emergencies.

Chinese culture is the reason, said Shen Yamei, deputy director and associate research fellow at the state-backed think tank China Institute of International Studies’ department for American studies.

He said he did not know what was going on between the US and China regarding the rejected calls. But he points to a potential factor – “hidden anxiety,” in his understanding of Chinese culture.

“We are very afraid that the so-called conflict control or crisis control measures the US [has] have been eager to prepare that really put in place, then maybe encourage others [reckless] and reckless and courageous actions on the part of the US,” Shen said.

“We want China-US relations to be stable,” he said. “If the U.S. always talks about worst-case scenarios, hotlines, crisis control, then we are making U.S.-China relations on a very small scale.”

The default US view is quite different.

“You have a hotline because if something gets difficult or tense, or at least there’s a chance of a major misunderstanding and then a miscalculation, you need to be able to talk quickly,” said Barbara K. Bodine, a retiree. ambassador and director of the Diplomatic Studies Institute at Georgetown University.

“Even if we probably don’t call the hotline, if something happens with Ottawa, we’ll call and say, ‘Excuse me, what is that?'” he said. “This is a fundamental part of diplomacy.”

China and the US have different explanations for why the balloon flew over the US

Beijing’s insistence on a “civilian unmanned airship” for weather research is simply not feasible. The US said it was an “altitude surveillance balloon” trying to spy on strategic sites in the country.

The incident, covered by US media, forced US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a trip to Beijing – a rare opportunity for the two countries to communicate amid tensions.

The fallout also made the active hotline “very critical” to bilateral relations, said Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and Chair of the Trustee on Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.

The next step, he said, “is a deeper dialogue about how to see the other side, what are the red lines, what do you want from the relationship and what is possible and practical, then look to build it.”

Officially, China’s defense ministry said it rejected the call about the balloon because the US decision to shoot the balloon “failed to create a suitable atmosphere for dialogue and exchange between the two militaries.”

The Pentagon said it was maintaining open lines of communication and not seeking conflict.

But the press secretary said that a “responsible country” would alert a civilian balloon about to enter a sovereign country’s airspace. “The PRC doesn’t do it,” the secretary said, referring to China’s official name. “He didn’t respond until after he was called.”

Beijing’s decisions are influenced by the closed structure of its government and national history, while US expectations of international communication are embedded in public relations.

Using a hotline to diffuse a potentially dangerous situation means there are situations that need to be diffused, Bodine said. “But if one side of the relationship thinks there is a misunderstanding or problem, then any marriage counselor will tell you the other side needs to at least listen to what.”

And if that side says there’s no problem, “all the worry and anxiety and worst-case scenario nightmares about what’s going on in your personal relationship aren’t going to get any better,” he said. “He’s going to get worse.”

Shen from the China Institute of International Studies said that both sides have been working to manage tensions, and it is important for the two countries to communicate regularly, if not to cooperate on issues such as climate change and international financial stability.

Blinken met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a security conference in Munich this month. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is also expected to visit China.

Since the balloon incident, Beijing has published several papers.

One reiterated his stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, another discussed the “Global Security Initiative” that claims to support world peace. The third paper discusses what he calls US hegemony – going back to the Monroe Doctrine of 1823.

“It is very important to prevent the rhetoric from being dominated by one opinion maker,” Shen said.

Beijing has long urged the US to follow the principles of “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation” – a position that has often led to a focus on what is good for China.

“Maybe most countries want to talk about the good things in the relationship and not necessarily talk about different areas,” Bodine said. “And we don’t want to have a relationship where we only talk about nice things.”

“If we don’t talk about anything we don’t like, we don’t need embassies on all sides.”