The 100 days of Biden: a hawkish approach from China causes friction in Beijing

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

From his first call with President Xi Jinping to one extraordinary spitting among U.S. and Chinese diplomats in Alaska, Joe Biden’s blatant stance on China has been much closer to that of his predecessor Donald Trump than experts had predicted.

In his first 100 days in office, Biden punished China for repressing the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, persecuting Uyghurs in Xinjiang and military activity near Taiwan that has he raised the specter of war.

Last month in Alaska, his secretary of state and national security adviser raised these issues in public opening statements, prompting a 16-minute diatribe from the Chinese that highlighted how Sino-US relations were maintained. .

“What the Biden team has tried to do is establish a new normalcy in the relationship in which Beijing’s leaders understand that there will be friction and that Chinese pressure on the US or its allies and partners will not make the United States step back, ”said Zack Cooper, an Asian expert with the American Enterprise Institute think tank.

Biden has shown little interest in engaging with China on various critical issues as he works to strengthen the U.S. nationally to demonstrate the resilience of its democracy and strengthen alliances. The goal is to create additional leverage that will force China to change its behavior.

“[China] He came up with an idea of. . . restore things. . . or rewind the clock in some way or just blame the Trump administration for all the wrongs, “a senior U.S. official told the Financial Times.” It was important to be able to make it clear at first that this was not the way to go. ‘to go”.

Speaking Friday at the Aspen Security Forum, Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, said Biden’s team would stand firm in its approach to Beijing.

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

Beyond his stance on human rights, Biden has maintained a strong military presence in the South China Sea, reaffirmed “solid” support for Taiwan and reaffirmed his commitment to defending Japan, an ally of Japan. US Defense Treaty.

But in areas like trade, Biden has shown no sign of tariff hikes that Trump imposed on Chinese exports. His team is reviewing Trump-era technology moves, but most of the measures have not been reversed. He has also blacklisted Chinese companies, a tool often used by Trump.

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

Alex Wong, a former Trump administration official who now works with the Hudson Institute think tank, said he was pleased that Biden has “shown a lot of continuity” with his predecessor. “China and our partners in the region needed to feel that this is not just a phenomenon of the Trump administration,” he said.

However, there are also significant differences. Biden has done it he worked hard to repair alliances which weakened during the Trump presidency. Stressing the importance of the Indo-Pacific region, the first foreign leader to visit the White House was Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will become the second next month.

Biden convened the first summit of the leader of the Quadruple, which includes the United States, Japan, India and Australia, even if the broad vaccine diplomacy strategy it developed has been affected by the coronavirus crisis in India.

“When America shows up and we get along and work with allies. . . we can still galvanize democratic nations with like-minded ideas, ”the U.S. official said.

After their summit, Biden and Suga issued a joint statement that included support for Taiwan, the first time the two nations had done so since 1969. The United States also coordinated with the United Kingdom, the EU and Canada to impose sanctions on Chinese officials for Chinese repression of Uighurs.

“[The Biden team] has done an incredibly good job starting the process of strengthening alliances, “said Bonnie Glaser, a Chinese expert with the German Marshall Fund in the United States, noting that Beijing has long feared the formation of anti-Chinese coalitions.” Chinese are worried, ”he added.

While Biden has won praise, he has not articulated a clear vision of what he wants to achieve in a commitment phase. The U.S. official said that for now, cooperation would be limited to addressing climate change and the nuclear security challenges posed by Iran and North Korea.

“This is largely the immediate menu. But we certainly have been. . . make an effort to methodically explore what our interests are, what their interests are and where they can intersect, ”he said.

In addition to questions about how Biden will face technology-related national security challenges, experts hope to see what more steps he will take against Xinjiang after calling Uyghur abuse a “genocide.”

Jessica Chen Weiss, a Chinese expert at Cornell University, said it was also unclear whether actions such as coordinated sanctions would cause Beijing to change its behavior.

“It remains to be seen whether this has the ultimate effect of changing Chinese behavior in areas that the Biden administration has highlighted, especially in human rights,” he said, noting that the Chinese response had not been to change course but to impose retaliatory sanctions.

While the Allies have welcomed the general move by the United States to re-engage, they do have some concerns, including that Biden’s strategy in the Indo-Pacific is too focused on security and not enough on the economy. Biden is unlikely to join major trade pacts because of domestic political pressure and his view that foreign policy should help the American middle class.

“The foreign policy of the middle class is not clear [strategy] it will be compatible with the business and investment approach that most of our allies and partners in Asia want, ”Cooper said.

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

“In November 2022, Biden faces a difficult mid-term election to win. In October or November 2022, Xi will have to manage a difficult National Party Congress, which may re-elect him for another term. five years old, ”he said.

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

Carry on Demetri Sevastopulo on Twitter