WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden took office promising to act quickly to restore and repair America’s relations with the rest of the world, but a large nation has yet to see any US effort to improve ties: China.
From Iran to Russia, from Europe to Latin America, Biden has sought to cool the tensions that have increased during President Donald Trump’s four years. However, there have been no openings for China.
Although the Biden government has stopped fierce rhetorical attacks and the almost daily announcements of new sanctions against China which has become commonplace under Trump, has not yet backed down on any of Trump’s actions against Beijing.
This persistent state of low-intensity hostility has profound implications. China and the United States are the two largest economies in the world and the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Its struggle for power complicates global efforts to tackle climate change and recover from the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden’s tough stance has its roots in the competition for global power, but it is also the result of the campaign for the 2020 presidential election, in which Trump and his allies repeatedly tried to portray him as being lenient with China, especially during the pandemic that originated there.. There is also little appetite for lawmakers on both sides to ease the pressure on China.
Thus, in his first month in office, Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed many of the Trump administration’s most significant steps toward China, including the determination that its crackdown on Uighur Muslims and other minorities in western Xinjiang constitute a “genocide” and a direct rejection of almost all of China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Nor did the new government signal any easing of Trump’s tariffs, restrictions on Chinese diplomats, journalists and academics in the U.S. or criticism of Chinese policies towards Tibet, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It also criticizes Beijing’s attempts to promote its growing global influence through telecommunications technology, social media and educational and cultural exchanges.
Biden’s nominee to head the CIA, William Burns, was explicit about his concerns over many of these issues at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. And the recently confirmed United States ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, made a point of highlighting her discomfort with the situation and pledged to combat Chinese attempts to exert undue pressure on other countries at the UN
The background is clear: the United States is convinced that they and China are fighting a duel for global dominance. And neither is prepared to back down.
China at times seemed hopeful that Biden will reverse what Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said were actions by the Trump administration that “have caused immeasurable damage to the relationship between the two countries”.
These statements were made after a speech in which China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, demanded that the Biden government lift the restrictions on trade and interpersonal contacts and end what Beijing considers unjustified interference in the areas of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.
Wang asked the United States to “stop tarnishing” the reputation of the ruling Communist Party of China. “We hope that US lawmakers will keep pace with the times, clearly see the trend in the world, abandon prejudices, give up unjustified suspicions and move forward to bring China’s policy back to reason to ensure China’s healthy and stable development. Relations with the USA, ”he said.
But anti-China rhetoric has not abated. Senior officials in the Biden government have pledged to use American power to contain what many Democrats and Republicans see as China’s growing threats to US interests and values in the Asia-Pacific and beyond.
All of them have repeatedly referred to China as a strategic rival or enemy, not a potential friend or partner, and have also demonstrated their belief that the United States must “win” China.
“Beating China will be critical to our national security for the next few decades,” Burns said at his confirmation hearing. “China is a formidable authoritarian opponent, methodically strengthening its ability to steal intellectual property, repress its own people, intimidate its neighbors, expand its global reach and build influence in American society.”
“It is difficult for me to see a more significant threat or challenge for the United States, as far as I can see in the 21st century than that. It is the biggest geopolitical test we face, ”he said.
At least some Asian hands in the United States see Biden slowly moving towards possible reengagement with China, partly because he wants to strengthen his domestic position and make it clear that the United States is not a victim of Chinese predation.
“They are holding back from the normal syndrome of a new government facing problems with China,” said Danny Russel, who was assistant secretary of state for Asia during the Obama administration and is now vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Russel said that Biden is “sending messages that have the effect of showing that he is not soft on China, that he is not a scapegoat for China, that he is not so desperate for a breakthrough in climate change that he will negotiate our security. national interests. “
Chinese academics see little difference in Biden’s approach.
“Continuity takes precedence over adjustment and change,” said Zhu Feng, professor of international relations at the elite of Nanjing University.
Biden will have to deal with a China that is much more powerful and influential than under previous United States administrations, said Yu Wanli, professor of international relations at Beijing University of Language and Culture.
“There has been a big gap between what they believe China is and what China really is,” said Yu. “Their policy in China is based on illusions, which is likely to result in some bad consequences. It takes time for them to get back to reality. ”
In addition to its support for Taiwan, the United States views China’s policies in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and elsewhere as human rights issues, while China sees them as issues of sovereignty, Yu said. “The frictions will still exist and the pattern will still be the same.”