The United States is drawing a clear distinction between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese people, setting the tone that Washington views Beijing’s government — not the general public — as an adversary in strategic competition, according to an internal document obtained by VOA.
This approach largely aligns with the State Department’s public messaging in the later years of U.S. President Donald Trump’s first administration.
In recent guidance on China-related terminology, Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructs U.S. embassies and consular posts to use more specific descriptors and avoid “Chinese” as an adjective when its use could imply a negative connotation of the Chinese people, culture or language more broadly.
This latest directive follows the removal of references to the Beijing government as the “People’s Republic of China” on the State Department’s website, which now refers to the country simply as “China” in a fact sheet.
The internal document instructs the State Department to use “CCP” in public speeches or press releases when discussing government actions, recognizing that the CCP holds ultimate authority over political, economic, military and many other decisions in the country.
But when describing China’s malign actions, the document advises against using “Chinese” as an adjective to prevent the perception that the U.S. government attributes those actions to the Chinese people, according to the memo.
The U.S. is also advised to avoid using language that reflects the ideology of China’s leader Xi Jinping.
Under this directive, Xi should be referred to as “General Secretary” of the Communist Party, rather than “President,” reflecting the supremacy of the party over the state — a practice largely in line with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s approach.
In the internal guidance, Rubio reaffirmed the emphasis in the State Department’s fact sheet on U.S. policy toward China, which said the U.S. will address its relationship with China under the principles of “reciprocity and fairness.”
Additionally, the State Department should avoid characterizations previously used by former President Joe Biden’s administration, such as “invest-align-compete” and “responsibly managing the relationship” between the U.S. and China.
In Beijing, Chinese officials have “strongly deplored and firmly opposed” the changes in the State Department’s factsheet, accusing it of “peddling the so-called China-U.S. strategic competition.”
At a briefing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China has “lodged serious protests with the U.S.” following Rubio’s recent media interviews, which Beijing deemed as “steeped in the Cold War mentality.”
In Washington, analysts say the changes in the State Department’s policy description on its website are not unusual and often occur when a new administration takes office.
“We’re still waiting to see exactly how the [Trump] administration” casts its broader China strategy, said Brian Hart, deputy director of the China Power Project at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. However, during a Monday discussion on China hosted by CSIS, he noted that updates to official websites are common during transitions between administrations.
