100 Days of the Road: A closer look at China sparks the friction in Beijing

This is part of the series Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office

Since the first call with President Xi Jinping an extraordinary murmur Among U.S. and Chinese diplomats in Alaska, Joe Biden’s fearful attitude toward China has been much closer than that predicted by experts to his predecessor Donald Trump.

In his first 100 days in office, Biden tried China for thwarting Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, persecuting Uyghurs in Xinjiang and for military activity near Taiwan. he raised the ghost of war.

Last month in Alaska, his secretary of state and national security adviser raised these issues in public opening remarks, and the Chinese sparked a 16-minute diatribe that highlighted how Sino-US relations were on an astonishing trajectory.

“What the Biden group has tried to do has set a new normalcy for Beijing leaders who understand that there will be friction and that pressure from the US in China or its allies and partners will not be pushed back by the US.” “Said Zack Cooper, an expert on Asia, in the think tank of the American Enterprise Institute.

Biden has shown little interest in contacting China on a number of critical issues, as the U.S. is working to strengthen the United States to show the strength of its democracy and strengthen alliances. The goal is ultimately to create an additional lever that will force China to change its behavior.

“[China] came up with an idea for. . . restoring things. . . to somehow throw the clock back or blame the Trump administration for all the evil, “a senior U.S. official told the Financial Times.” It was important to know clearly at the beginning that this was not the way to go. “

Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum on Friday, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden team will remain steadfast when it comes to approaching Beijing.

“The goal is not to have China. It’s not the start of the new Cold War. It’s not about getting into conflict, ”Sullivan said.“ We have to compete hard and push back in the service of what we believe are our values ​​and universal values. ”

Beyond its human rights stance, Biden has maintained a strong military presence in the South China Sea, reaffirmed “strong” support for Taiwan, and reaffirmed its commitment to defend Japan, an ally of the U.S. defense pact.

But in areas like trade, Biden has shown no sign of removing the tariffs Trump charged on Chinese exports. His group is studying the technology moves of Trump’s time, but most of the measures have not been reversed. Chinese companies have also blacklisted exports, a tool often used by Trump.

“I’m not surprised that Biden has emphasized democratic values ​​by criticizing China in Hong Kong or Uyghur politics because Democrats tend to emphasize values,” said Chinese expert Ling Chen Johns of Hopkins University. “But I’m impressed with the economic and technological policy. Biden has largely embraced Trump’s tradition.”

Alex Wong, a former Trump administration official now in the think tank at the Hudson Institute, said he was pleased that Biden had “shown great continuity” with his predecessor. “China and our regional partners should have heard that this is not just a Trump administration phenomenon,” he said.

However, there are significant differences. Biden has he worked hard to fix the alliance that was weakened during Trump’s presidency. Emphasizing the importance of the Indo-Pacific region, the first foreign leader to go to the White House was Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will be second next month.

Biden called the first meeting at the leadership level QuadIt is made up of the US, Japan, India and Australia, although the highly praised vaccine diplomacy strategy has led to the Indian coronavirus crisis.

“When America shows up and we roll up our sleeves and work with allies. . . we can galvanize democratic nations that can still think, ”the U.S. official said.

After the summit, Biden and Suga made a joint statement, which received support from Taiwan. the first time the two nations did so since 1969. The US also coordinated with the UK, EU and Canada to impose sanctions on Chinese officials because China repressed the Uyghurs.

“[The Biden team] it has done a tremendous job starting the process of strengthening alliances, “said Bonnie Glaser, a Chinese expert at the German Marshall Fund in the US, noting how Beijing has long feared the formation of anti-China coalitions.” The Chinese are concerned. “

However, although Biden has won praise, he has not explained a clear vision of what he wants to achieve in the engagement phase. U.S. officials have said that for the time being, cooperation will be limited to tackling climate change and the nuclear security challenges posed by Iran and North Korea.

“That’s largely an instant menu. But we have been. . . making an effort to methodically walk through our interests, interests and where they may intersect, ”he said.

In addition to asking how Biden will deal with technology-related national security challenges, experts are waiting to see what further action he will take with Xinjiang after calling the Uyghur abuse “genocide”.

Jessica Chen Weiss, a Chinese expert at Cornell University, also said it was unclear whether actions like coordinated sanctions would change Beijing’s behavior.

“It remains to be seen whether the road administration, especially on human rights, will have the ultimate effect of changing China’s behavior,” he said, noting that China’s response was not to change the trajectory but to impose retaliatory sanctions.

Although the Allies have welcomed the U.S. move to participate again, they have some concerns, including that the Indo-Pacific Biden strategy is focused on security and is not enough for the economy. Biden is unlikely to enter into a major trade pact because of internal political pressure and the view that foreign policy should contribute to the middle class in the United States.

“There is no clear foreign policy for the middle class [strategy] it will be compatible with the trade and investment approach that most of our Asian allies and partners want, ”Cooper said.

The political dynamics in both countries also suggest that it may take some time for Washington and Beijing to reach a halt, according to Craig Allen, chairman of the US-China Business Council.

“In November 2022, Biden is bound to win the midterm elections. In October or November 2022, Xi will have to manage a difficult National Party Congress, which may re-elect him for another five-year term,” he said.

“Until these two political events occur, there may not be much room for compromise.”

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