SINGAPORE – The Biden government is likely to maintain harsh rhetoric against China, said a former Singapore diplomat on Wednesday.
But it remains to be seen whether the government would listen to other countries in the region before implementing its policies towards Beijing, Kishore Mahbubani, now a distinguished fellow at the National Research Institute of Asia at Singapore, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia”.
“I think there is no doubt that the Biden government must look very tough on China,” he said, adding: “This is very clear because there is a strong bipartisan consensus in the United States that the time has come for the United States to take a position until the China. “
He made his comments on Wednesday morning during Asian hours, before Joe Biden’s inauguration.
U.S.-China relations worsened significantly under President Donald Trump when the two superpowers waged a trade war and competed for technological superiority. In some cases, the US has sought to bring countries to its side against China. But in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia, Beijing’s economic and political influence remains strong.
“The important thing here is that the Biden government will listen to the countries in the region before implementing any policy towards China?” Mahbubani said. He explained that if the Biden government starts to listen, it will find that there is a very strong consensus in East Asia.
“Yes, you need to be firm and strong in China, but we also have to get along with China. We have to work with China. We want our economies to recover from Covid-19. That’s the message you will get,” Mahbubani said.
The US Capitol building is set up for President-elect Joe Biden’s opening ceremonies as American flags are placed on the floor at the National Mall on January 18, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
“At the end of the day, I am optimistic that, behind very strong rhetoric, there is also an understanding in the Biden government that they would work with the rest of East Asia. And, frankly, they would also work with China on critical issues like climate change, for example, “he added.
US returns to Asia
Under the Obama administration, one of the cornerstones of America’s pivot for Asia was the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Trump pulled the U.S. out of that deal when he first took office in 2017.
The remaining 11 countries in the TPP renegotiated the pact and signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2018. Last year, China and 14 other countries signed the Regional Global Economic Partnership (RCEP), which became the largest commercial block in the world, covering a market of 2.2 billion people and US $ 26.2 trillion in global production.
As such, the United States is not involved in any of the mega trade deals involving most of Asia’s prominent economies except India.
The TPP was “a gift to the United States because it was a way of anchoring the US presence in East Asia, to ensure that this region is not dominated by China,” said Mahbubani.
He explained that the unfavorable domestic attitude of the United States towards free trade agreements, even those that could potentially be beneficial to the country, would make it more difficult for Washington to rejoin the new CPTPP.
“To make a real pivot, the United States should find ways and means of returning, perhaps in a very subtle and indirect way, to the Trans-Pacific partnership,” said Mahbubani.