Take stock of the "dialogue" that attracted worldwide attention in the international political arena in the first half of the year.

  BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua)-Confrontation and dialogue, conflict and compromise have always been two opposing and interdependent aspects in the international political arena. In the past six months in 2013, the global situation has been fluctuating, and there are many tense confrontations and dialogues that attract worldwide attention, from which we can find some threads of the development of the international situation.

  The first US dollar dialogue: "No tie" lights up Sino-US diplomacy.

  There is no 21-gun salute, no honor guard and welcoming ceremony, and there is no need to sit at the negotiating table … At the beginning of June this year, the meeting between the heads of state of China and the United States, unlike the previous "no tie", attracted the attention of Chinese people and the whole world.

  On June 7-8, the Supreme Leader of president, China and US President Barack Obama met in California. This is the first face-to-face contact between the Chinese and American heads of state after the change of government.

  The dialogue between the heads of state of China and the United States is very special. The meeting place was not the White House, but the picturesque California manor. The leaders of the two sides opened their shirts and collars without ties, saving all red tape. The "no tie" dialogue enabled the two heads of state to have heart-to-heart and in-depth exchanges on major issues in a relaxed and private environment.

  In the two days, the time spent by the heads of state of China and the United States together exceeded eight hours. Diaoyu Island issue, South China Sea issue, cyber security, North Korean nuclear issue, economic cooperation … At this "no tie meeting", the two heads of state openly and frankly communicated and discussed many issues. The two sides not only talk about cooperation, but also avoid differences. The time, quality, depth and breadth of interaction are unprecedented.

  As a result of the talks, the two heads of state agreed to work together to build a new type of relationship between China and the United States, promote the construction of a new type of military relationship between China and the United States, and respect each other and win-win cooperation. The handshake between China, the world’s largest developing country, and the leader of the world’s largest developed country, the Supreme Leader, and Obama at California Manor opened a new chapter in Sino-US "trans-Pacific cooperation".

  Dialogue between the Korean and Korean authorities: it seems like a bright future, but the mountains are heavy.

  In the first half of this year, the situation on the Korean Peninsula seemed to be on a "roller coaster", which rose and fell in just a few months, but suddenly turned around at the critical moment. However, even if you are willing to "talk", it is still full of twists and turns.

  In the past few months, the situation on the peninsula has really made people sweat: North Korea conducted a nuclear test, South Korea-US military exercises, the hotline between South Korea and North Korea was cut off, North Korea restarted its nuclear reactor, and the Kaesong Industrial Park completely stopped running … All kinds of signs once made the outside world think that the Korean peninsula had reached a state of "war is imminent".

  However, since May, North Korea has clearly expressed its willingness to talk to the international community by receiving the Japanese Prime Minister’s adviser and sending a special envoy to visit China. At the beginning of June, North Korea even abandoned its previous tough attitude and made a rare proposal for intergovernmental dialogue to South Korea.

  The South Korean government quickly seized the opportunity of North Korea’s "goodwill". Just a few days later, the director-level working talks between the ROK and the DPRK were held in Panmunjom, paving the way for the next ministerial talks.

  然而,就在外界看好局势发展的当口,情况却发生转折性变化。朝鲜以韩方会谈团长“级别过低”为由,单方面宣布取消原定于12日举行的当局会谈。

  韩朝6月初的政府间对话就这样几乎在最后一刻中断,但7月4日,新的消息传来:韩朝一致同意于6日在板门店举行工作会谈。此外,朝鲜还表示愿意重返六方会谈。韩朝间看似“柳暗花明”、实则“山重水复”的沟通能否顺利继续,值得关注。

  美国、阿富汗、塔利班:陷入“三角债”困局的谈判

  12年前,美军进入阿富汗与塔利班武装人员作战,打响“9?11”袭击后的反恐战争“第一战”,就在历经12年战争、死伤数千人之后,阿富汗局势似乎初露和谈曙光,但却因美国、阿富汗政府、塔利班之间的“三角”纠葛搁浅。

  6月18日,阿富汗塔利班宣布在多哈开设和谈办公室,随后有美国官员确认美方将与塔利班进行直接谈判。此举引起阿政府不满,阿总统卡尔扎伊19日宣布中止阿美《双边安全协议》协商进程,同时取消阿高级和平委员会赴多哈和谈安排。由于遭到阿政府强烈抗议,原定于20日举行的美国和塔利班首次会面被取消。

  When the news of the talks was released, international public opinion was cautiously optimistic about it. Some analysts believe that the deep-seated reason for the delay in the negotiations is that the three parties have their own "wishful thinking", and the negotiations will be a dilemma with no end in sight.

  Through negotiations, the United States wants the Taliban to publicly renounce its relations with Al Qaeda, end its violence in Afghanistan and recognize the Afghan Constitution. The United States should avoid giving people the impression of walking away and seek a dignified withdrawal from Afghanistan; The purpose of the Afghan government is to "woo" the Taliban, persuade them to lay down their arms, join the government-led reconciliation process, and maintain and consolidate the government’s orthodoxy and legal status; The Taliban, from the position of strength, tried to share power with the government through negotiations, so as to gain time, gradually expand and restore the Taliban regime.

  The analysis believes that after more than 10 years of war, the balance of power among the three parties has undergone a fundamental change. Although the three parties came to the negotiating table under the banner of reconciliation process, they all wanted to get something that could not be achieved on the battlefield at the negotiating table, which doomed the negotiations to be difficult to make substantive progress.

  Just when the negotiations ran aground, the violence cast a heavier shadow on them. On June 25, the presidential palace in Afghanistan was attacked by Taliban militants, and four armed men died in an exchange of fire with the police. This is an attack launched by the Taliban against the highest-level targets in Afghanistan since its offensive in April this year.

  Although after the violence, US President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai reiterated their support for negotiations with the Afghan Taliban. However, it is still difficult to predict when the peace talks facing many variables will start. The peace process in Afghanistan remains worrying.

  Difficult situation in Syria: domestic dialogue is hopeless and international conference is difficult to produce.

  In the middle of 2013, the Syrian crisis, which lasted for more than two years, is still far from being resolved. Bashar al-Assad, who "sticks to" the presidency, has very different political views from the Syrian opposition. The two sides are still mired in the deadlock of confrontation and confrontation, and the road to dialogue and reconciliation is still long.

  In January this year, Assad put forward a new peace initiative and transition plan, calling for national dialogue to end internal conflicts. However, Assad’s peace initiative did not bring dawn to the chaotic situation in Syria. The Syrian opposition said that unless Assad stepped down or did not have any preconditions, there would be no dialogue.

  For more than half a year, the Syrian government forces and the opposition have continued to wage a tug-of-war in Syria’s major towns. The two sides have blamed each other on whether to use chemical weapons and whether to kill civilians indiscriminately. The extent to which the domestic security situation in Syria has deteriorated is not difficult to see from the latest data released by the United Nations-it is conservatively estimated that at least 93,000 people have died in the Syrian crisis.

  In addition, the Geneva International Conference on Syria, which was expected to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis, was also delayed. Since the beginning of June, the United Nations, the United States, Russia, Syria and other parties have held many consultations, but still failed to reach an agreement on key issues such as the convening time and participants. On June 25th, the United Nations-Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria Brahimi said that the meeting scheduled for July could not be held as scheduled because the Syrian opposition was still not ready.

  At the same time, at the beginning of June, when the war situation began to develop in favor of the Syrian government forces, more than a dozen countries, including the United States, decided to provide emergency military assistance to the opposition in Syria in order to "balance the domestic forces in Syria."

  But there is no doubt that such a "balance" will only aggravate the antagonistic situation in Syria and make the political solution to the crisis farther away from Syria. When the two sides in Syria can start a dialogue and when the Syrian people can regain peace will remain a long-term problem.

  Conclusion:

  Take stock of the conversations worth reviewing in the first half of this year, including successes, failures and unresolved issues. No matter how fierce the confrontation is, "dialogue" is still a good way to solve problems and bridge the differences between the opposing sides. In the future, confrontation and conflict will inevitably continue in the international political arena, but people still hope that there will be more and more dialogues and communication in the international community in the future, injecting more "catalysts" for achieving peace and reconciliation.