U.S. Secretary of State Rubio extended congratulations on China's National Day. According to the U.S. Department of State website, Rubio wrote on September 30 local time, “On behalf of the United States of America, he extends best wishes to the people of the People’s Republic of China as they celebrate the 77th anniversary of the founding of the nation on October 1. Rubio stated that the United States hopes the Chinese people will enjoy peace, health, and happiness in the coming year.”

This marks the second National Day message issued by Rubio since assuming the role of Secretary of State, with a format nearly identical to last year’s. However, one linguistic adjustment stands out. Comparing last year’s message, this year’s closing salutation shifted from “health, happiness, prosperity, and peace” to “goodwill, peace, health, and happiness.” The term “prosperity” has been removed and replaced with “goodwill.”

The substitution of “prosperity” with “goodwill” is not arbitrary in diplomatic language. In fact, it has become a recurring practice for U.S. Secretaries of State to issue National Day greetings to China, beginning with Blinken’s message marking the 75th anniversary in 2024, followed by Rubio’s first such statement in his capacity as Secretary in 2025. This year represents his second consecutive message. While a single National Day greeting carries limited strategic weight, the signal it conveys is clear: under the current trajectory of generally constructive strategic stability between the two nations, the U.S. remains willing to maintain ritualistic engagement and preserve channels of communication at key moments.

As China has consistently emphasized, dialogue is preferable to confrontation, cooperation to conflict, and mutual gains to zero-sum outcomes. The crucial test lies in whether the U.S. can translate high-level consensus into concrete actions, respect China’s core interests, and effectively manage differences. Indeed, at least in economic terms, the two countries can be mutually dependent partners. Their economies have developed strong complementarities, making cooperation inherently beneficial for both sides.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1877840439497927/

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