U.S.-China Relations
The Biden Administration and U.S.-China Relations
The advent of the Biden administration provided Washington with an opportunity to reformulate U.S.-China relations at a critical moment in the Sino-American relationship. Our Committee is keeping a close eye on the administration’s policies towards China, highlighting moves that either increase or diminish the prospects for conflict avoidance and cooperation on areas of mutual concern, such as pandemic relief, climate change, and nuclear nonproliferation.
In the space below, we provide articles and documents on key developments in the administration’s evolving approach to China, with the most recent appearing first. Also included are statements by senior Chinese officials on U.S.-China relations and analyses of the subject by scholars from both countries
Biden-Xi April 2 Phone Conversation: Keeping Things Calm
Assessment by Michael T. Klare, April 4, 2024
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke by phone with President Xi Jinping of China on April 2, 2024, their first direct conversation since meeting in person at the Woodside estate near San Francisco on Nov. 15, 2023, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. From all accounts, the two presidents sought to preserve an atmosphere of relative calm between the two powers without actually resolving anything of substance.
The White House “readout” of the conversation, which reportedly lasted over an hour, was relatively concise, saying only that the two leaders discussed a variety of divisive issues and agreed to keep talking, rather than allow their differences to ignite an armed conflict.
“The two leaders held a candid and constructive discussion on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, including areas of cooperation and areas of difference,” the readout states. “The two leaders welcomed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication and responsibly manage the relationship through high-level diplomacy and working-level consultations in the weeks and months ahead.”
But while the emphasis here is on Xi and Biden’s efforts to “manage the relationship” in a constructive fashion, it is also evident that the two leaders touched on areas of deep disagreement without making a significant effort to move progress on their resolution.
“President Biden emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea,” the readout indicates, alluding to recent clashes between Chinese and Filipino naval forces over possession of contested islands in the area. Biden also reportedly raised concerns over Beijing’s “support for Russia’s defense industrial base” and what he claimed were its “unfair trade policies and non-market economic practices.” Alluding to recent White House moves to block exports of advanced chip technology to China, Biden affirmed that the U.S. “will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our national security.”
The Chinese view of the exchange, at least as reported by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), is somewhat rosier. Xi reportedly spoke of a “San Francisco Vision” arising from the November 15 meeting – a term not employed in the official U.S. text. “President Xi Jinping noted that his San Francisco meeting with President Biden last November opened a future-oriented San Francisco vision,” the official MFA statement reads. “The China-U.S. relationship is beginning to stabilize, and this is welcomed by both societies and the international community.
The Chinese statement does, however, acknowledge, that tensions persist, and could get worse if leaders on both sides do not exercise great caution. “President Xi Jinping stressed that the Taiwan question is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations,” it states. “In the face of “Taiwan independence” separatist activities and external encouragement and support for them [presumably by the U.S.], China is not going to sit on its hands.”
Xi again used barely concealed threatening language when discussing the Biden administration’s imposition of technology restrictions on China. “The U.S. side has adopted a string of measures to suppress China’s trade and technology development, and is adding more and more Chinese entities to its sanctions lists,” the MFA statement reads. “If [Washington] is adamant on containing China’s hi-tech development and depriving China of its legitimate right to development, China is not going to sit back and watch.”
If anything, the most promising outcome of the call is the apparent willingness of both leaders to continue and even increase talks between senior U.S. and Chinese officials on a wide variety of critical issues, including trade, narcotics trafficking, climate change, and risks from artificial intelligence.
“The U.S. will send Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to visit China shortly to strengthen dialogue and communication, avoid miscalculation and promote cooperation, so as to advance the relationship on a stable path and jointly respond to global challenges,” the Chinese account reads. “The two sides agreed to stay in communication, and tasked their teams to deliver on the San Francisco vision… carrying out dialogue and cooperation in such areas as counternarcotics, artificial intelligence and climate response…and enhancing communication on international and regional issues.”
Such Comments, however promising, do not alter the fundamental equation: both sides appear trapped in a logic on unyielding competition, and until they acknowledge that cooperation is essential to their mutual survival, will not be able to proceed beyond such short-term remedies.
Biden and Xi Seek Coexistence at San Francisco Summit
Analysis by Mel Gurtov
Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Portland State University
The first face-to-face meeting in a year between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, held at a fancy estate near San Francisco on Nov. 15, went about as expected: some potentially meaningful agreements, some continuing disagreements, some controversies unexplored, and plenty of avowals to get along. Bottom line: No breakthroughs, but none expected.
Xi’s message for the US is plain. He wants to convey the foundational idea that China is on a par with the US as a world leader, has interests that must be respected, and must have a cooperative relationship with the US in order to achieve global stability.
Presidents Biden and Xi at Nov. 15 summit near San Francisco
With an eye to his domestic audience, Xi appeared relaxed and very much the equal of Biden—at least as portrayed by the Chinese media. Biden’s message for China was not much different from Xi’s: the US and China have a global obligation to work together, and if Xi is prepared to meet some US concerns, the two countries can bridge the recent gap that has produced tensions and even predictions of inevitable conflict.
And they did bridge some gaps, three in particular: on the fentanyl trade, the climate crisis, and military talks. Xi agreed to target Chinese companies that export to Mexico the precursor chemicals used in the production of fentanyl. The US readout of the meeting notes the “establishment of a working group for ongoing communication and law enforcement coordination on counternarcotics issues.”
Xi and Biden also reached agreement to “pursue efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030.” And—a very important turnabout by China—Xi agreed to resume three channels of military-to-military discussions as well as “telephone conversations between theater commanders.”
Restoring these military interactions is essential because of the dangerous situation in the South China Sea, where close encounters between Chinese and US aircraft and ships have raised the risk of a violent confrontation. Now, once the Chinese name a defense minister, the talks should resume.
Staking Out Interests
According to the US readout of the meeting, Biden reaffirmed the importance of the US security system that is expanding in the so-called Indo-Pacific region—the system the Chinese consider a reversion to containment. Biden “emphasized the United States’ enduring commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight, adherence to international law, maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea and East China Sea, and the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
He reiterated the US commitment to defense of Ukraine and Israel; “raised concerns regarding PRC human rights abuses, including in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong; and reassured Xi that the US, with regard to Taiwan, continues to support “one China” but urges that Taiwan-China differences be settled peacefully and “called for restraint in the PRC’s use of military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait.”
On trade, Biden restated US concerns about China’s “unfair trade practices” and said the US “will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine our own national security, without unduly limiting trade and investment.”
According to the official Chinese Foreign Ministry account, Xi stressed the fundamental choice facing China and the US—either “zero-sum thinking” and competition that would mean a turbulent world, or increased cooperation to tackle the world’s problems. “The world can accommodate both China and the United States. China and the United States' respective successes are opportunities for each other,” Xi said. He repeated what he had told Biden at Bali last year, that China was pursuing its own road of development, that it was not out to displace the US but would not tolerate pressure tactics.
Xi apparently did not respond to Biden’s policy comments on the Middle East war, Ukraine, Pacific security, North Korea, or human rights. Instead, Xi proposed five “pillars” of the relationship: mutual understanding and respect; establishment of effective avenues for dialogue; increase in cooperative undertakings, such as on climate change and artificial intelligence; acceptance of great-power responsibilities in regional and international organizations; and an increase in all kinds of exchanges, such as air traffic and people-to-people.
But Xi did not shy away from addressing what China considers the key sources of tension with the US. On Taiwan, which Xi said was the “most important and most sensitive issue” in the relationship, he urged that the US take “concrete actions,” including stopping arms sales to Taiwan.
Those sales have increased significantly as the result of bipartisan Congressional legislation. And on trade, Xi said that unfair US policies were “harming China’s just interests” and “constraining China’s high-quality development.” But the Chinese account did report favorably on Biden’s comments on the global importance of US-China cooperation and his reiteration of support for the one-China principle.
Partner or Competitor?
At the very costly dinner for Xi that followed the summit, where corporate leaders paid $40,000 for a seat at the dais (versus only $2,000 to attend), Xi avoided current sources of US-China friction and instead recalled the years of friendly relations going back to World War II. His theme was friendship rather than, as Biden had emphasized, competition: “The number one question for us is: Are we adversaries, or partners?” Xi asked. “If one sees the other side as a primary competitor, the most consequential geopolitical challenge and a pacing threat, it will only lead to misinformed policymaking, misguided actions, and unwanted results.”
“China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States,” Xi promised. That view is, of course, music to the ears of companies that are heavily invested in China.
After their meeting, Biden was asked if he still thought Xi was a dictator, referring to a previous time when Biden had called him that. Biden replied this time: “Well, look, he is.” That gaffe was, as far as I can tell, the only complication in what seems to have been a rather successful summit, exemplified by their pledge to expand people-to-people exchanges, increase the number of senior-level contacts, and work (in the words of the US readout) toward “finding a way to live alongside each other peacefully.”
Of course, the devil is in the details, but for now, a good start has been made toward resetting US-China relations.
China’s New Foreign Policy Chief Warns U.S. of “Head-on Collision” over Taiwan
Analysis by Michael Klare, Jan. 6, 2023
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who became Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party on January 1 (effectively making him the number one foreign policy official in China) spoke by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Dec. 22, 2022 (Dec. 23 in Beijing).
According to the official Chinese “readout” of the conversation, as provided by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang had two messages for Blinken: behave in accordance with the cooperative stance assumed by Presidents Biden and Xi during their November meeting in Bali, Indonesia, and avoid provoking China on the Taiwan issue.
“Wang Yi said that President Xi Jinping's successful meeting with President Biden in Bali last month has provided strategic guidance for taking bilateral relationship out of severe difficulties and returning it to the track of sound and stable development,” the readout indicated. “But it must be pointed out that the United States should not pursue dialogue and cooperation while containing and stabbing China in the back. This is not reasonable competition, but unreasonable suppression; it is not managing differences, but aggravating problems.”
In an obvious reference to Taiwan, Wang reportedly told Blinken, “China will continue to resolutely defend its sovereignty, security and development interests. The U.S. must take seriously China's legitimate concerns, stop containing and suppressing China's development, and particularly stop using salami tactics to constantly challenge China's red line” – a reference, presumably, to Beijing’s claim that the White House keeps asserting that there’s been no change in U.S. policy on Taiwan while its actions (notably increased arms aid to Taipei and reassurances of U.S. military support in a crisis) – suggest otherwise.
Wang evidently sought to hold the United States responsible for any future blowups in the region. According to the official readout, “Wang Yi stressed that the two sides should focus on translating the common understandings reached between the two presidents in Bali into practical policies and concrete actions… [But] the zero-sum mentality will only lead the two major countries to mutual attrition and head-on collision.”
The official U.S. readout of the conversation, as provided by the Department of State, says little about this interchange. But it does indicate that Secretary Blinken told Wang of his “concerns about Russia’s war against Ukraine and the threats it poses to global security and economic stability” – a topic not mentioned in the Chinese readout.
From what can be surmised about these conversations, it appears that the Chinese are hoping that the collegial stance adopted by the two presidents in Bali will lead to a reduction in U.S. military and economic pressures on China. However, there is no indication from Washington that this is likely to prove the case, nor can Washington expect any real concessions from China on key issues like Taiwan. The likelihood, then, is for an increase in tensions much as was the case in the months leading up to the Bali summit in November.
Skirting the Abyss: Biden and Xi Lower Tensions at Bali Summit, But Fail to Resolve Major Differences
Assessment by Michael Klare, Nov. 17, 2022
[Note: This commentary first appeared at thenation.com on Nov. 17, 2022 as “Biden and Xi Skirt the Abyss’]
Admittedly, expectations for the November 4 meeting between Presidents Biden of the U.S. and Xi of China were not particularly high, so no one should be surprised that little of real substance emerged from their encounter in Bali, Indonesia. Both leaders laid out their concerns about the other side’s behavior while promising to contain their mutual antagonisms a level below that of armed conflict. They also agreed to increase high-level contacts and to resume formal talks over climate change. But neither leader appeared to give ground on any of the major fissures in US-China relations, so the risk of conflict is bound to persist.
In fact, the meeting occurred at a time when tensions between the two countries was already at a very high level, and many analysts were beginning to suggest that a U.S.-China war—probably triggered by a confrontation over Taiwan—was becoming a very real possibility. Accordingly, the Biden-Xi encounter was intended less to achieve diplomatic breakthroughs than to prevent relations from deteriorating even further.
By meeting in person and discussing their differences openly, leaders from both sides sought to lower tensions and adopt measures to prevent future crises from spiraling out of control. In this, they may have succeeded: both leaders indicated after the meeting that they had shared their primary concerns with one another—their “red lines,” as Biden put it—and agreed to keep lines of communication open so as to prevent dangerous miscalculations in a crisis. “We’re going to compete vigorously, but I’m not looking for conflict,” Biden affirmed. “I’m looking to manage this competition responsibly.”
But neither side openly discussed what was really at stake as the Bali meeting: a growing struggle between the world’s two most powerful nation for domination of the Asia-Pacific region. As China’s economic, technological, and military capabilities have grown, its leaders have sought to play a more paramount role in this vast region, thought to be the epicenter of the global economy. The United States, long the dominant power in the western Pacific, is determined to prevent China from achieving this objective.
This struggle is rarely discussed as such in formal US and Chinese statements, but was accorded prominence in two key documents recently released by the two sides: Xi Jinping’s October 16 report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and President Biden’s National Security Strategy of mid-October.
Even the title of Xi’s October 16 report, “Hold High the Great Banner of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Strive in Unity to Build a Modern Socialist Country in All Respects,” hints at some of its major themes: the advancement of national unity, economic growth, military modernization, and technological achievement under the leadership of the CCP. But underlying all of this an overarching objective: to reach parity with the United States as a global power, despite US efforts to resist this aspiration.
“After basically realizing modernization,” the report states, “we will continue to work hard and build China into a great modern socialist country that leads the world in terms of composite national strength and international influence by the middle of the century.” This aspiration—a.k.a. “the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation”—entails, among other things, achieving technological parity with the United States and securing the reunification of Taiwan with the mainland.
From the Biden administration’s perspective, these aspirations represent the greatest long-term threats to US security. “The most pressing challenge facing our vision [of a U.S.-centric world] is from powers that layer authoritarian governance with a revisionist foreign policy,” the National Security Strategy states. Russia is one such menace, but China “is the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to advance that objective.”
It follows from this, the Biden document argues, that the principal aim of U.S. strategy must be to prevent China from attaining the economic, military, and technological capacities required to achieve its objective. This requires, among other things, denying China access to the sophisticated computer technology it needs to achieve technological parity with the U.S. and ensuring that Taiwan will never be reunited with the mainland by force.
These two core issues have become more heated in recent months, with China stepping up its provocative military maneuvers near Taiwan and the Biden administration imposing tough restrictions on the export advanced semiconductors and chip-making technology to China. These critical issues were fully aired at the Biden-Xi meeting, but it is clear from the “readouts” of the discussions provided by the two sides that no progress was made on either of them.
On Taiwan, Biden did not repeat his claim that the U.S. would intervene should China invade the island—a claim he has made at least four times in the past year—but did insist that the U.S. “opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side.” Xi was far more definitive, saying outright that U.S. intervention in the Taiwan issue risked all-out war with China. Xi “stressed that the Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests…and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations,” according to the Foreign Ministry readout.
Biden reportedly chastised Xi for China’s unfair trade practices and abhorrent human rights behavior, but did not (according to the readout) address the technology ban. For Xi, however, this issue was central, as it bears on the US drive to prevent China from achieving its rightful place in the world. Much of his dialogue at the meeting, according to the readout, was devoted to this issue. “China-U.S. relations should not be a zero-sum game where one side out-competes or thrives at the expense of the other,” Xi reportedly told Biden.
Clearly, the two presidents succeeded in articulating their primary concerns, but neither addressed the underlying power struggle between their two countries (except in the most oblique fashion), and neither provided a path to reconciliation. Given that trade and technology issues will continue to be viewed in the West as a zero-sum game and that Taiwan will remain a major military flashpoint, there is no reason to assume that the modest achievements announced by Biden and Xi will result in reduced hostilities over the long-term.
For China and the United States to genuinely reduce the risk of future conflict, they will have to address the structural issues now dividing them and find ways to resolve, rather than “manage” their differences. This will take hard work, and a willingness to compromise on tough issues like trade and Taiwan. Increased cooperation on climate change and pandemic prevention can help move things in this direction, but there is no other pathway to lasting peace.
For complete text of the original article, click here
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Singapore: Containing China Is America’s Top Strategic Priority
Assessment by Michael Klare, June 18, 2022
On June 11, 2022, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III delivered a major address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, an annual conference on Asian security affairs attended by major officials from the region. For the full text of his speech, click here.
In the speech, Austin sought to lay out the Biden administration’s overarching strategy for the Indo-Pacific region. Among his key points: America’s “commitment to the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific…is now the core organizing principle of American national-security policy. Today, the Indo-Pacific is our priority theater of operations. Today, the Indo-Pacific is at the heart of American grand strategy.”
The goal of U.S. strategy in the region, he indicated, was to create space for a “rules-based international order,” free from aggression and intimidation. Without mentioning China by name, he repeatedly suggested that the greatest threat to that order in the Indo-Pacific is posed by China, as in Europe it is posed by Russia. “Let’s be clear,” he said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is what happens when oppressors trample the rules that protect us all. It’s what happens when big powers decide that their imperial appetites matter more than the rights of their peaceful neighbors.”
To defend the “rules-based international order” in the Indo-Pacific, Austin called for both a buildup of U.S. military capabilities in the region and the strengthening of a web of like-minded nations determined to curb China’s rise. This includes, he noted, increased military coordination with the “Quad” (a security arrangement between Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S.), the recently-forged AUKUS (Australia, U.K., U.S.) security pact, and such long-standing allies as Japan and South Korea – along with increased military aid for Taiwan.
Nowhere in Austin’s speech do the words “containment” or “encirclement” appear. Nevertheless, from the perspective of Beijing, it is hard to imagine that this does not look like a blueprint for exactly such a strategy. This can only lead to anger and resentment on the part of Chinese leaders, leading to increasing tension and hostility between the sides in the years ahead.
The Biden-Xi Summit: Lowered Tensions, But No Real Attempt at Solutions
Analysis by Michael Klare, November 20, 2021
Presidents Joe Biden of the U.S. and Xi Jinping of China met for 3.5 hours by teleconference on the evening of Nov. 15 (the morning of Nov. 16 in Beijing) in their first virtual “summit.” The two leaders discussed many outstanding issues in U.S.-China relations, including trade, Taiwan, human rights, Covid, and climate change. Both sides described the exchange as cordial and respectful, with the two presidents each articulating his country’s positions on these and other issues.
Going into the summit, U.S.-China relations were becoming increasingly tense and bitter, with both sides contributing to this downward spiral. On Sept. 15, the U.S. announced a new military alliance with Australia and the United Kingdom, dubbed AUKUS, which involves the transfer of U.S. nuclear submarine propulsion technology to Australia. This was followed on Sept. 24 by a White House summit meeting for leaders of the “Quad” – Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S. – to discuss strategies for countering China. Needless to say, both of these moves produced an angry reaction from Beijing. Then, on the weekend of Oct. 2-4, China dispatched 150 of its warplanes into Taiwan’s air-defense zone, in an unconcealed effort at political intimidation. This move, and other such military displays by China, have prompted increasingly hostile statements by U.S. officials.
It is easy to imagine how a continuation of such mutually hostile moves could drive the two countries into a dangerous, warlike environment, in which any crisis or incident might trigger an armed confrontation. The first task of the Biden-Xi summit, then, was to lower the level of tensions, and allow for the possibility of negotiations and cooperation on issues of mutual concern, such as climate, Covid, and the world economy.
In the aftermath of the summit, most analysts agreed that the two did succeed in easing tensions a bit, and reducing the risk of unintended conflict. Both leaders said they wanted to improve communications and take other steps to prevent their nations’ differences from spiraling out of control.
“It seems to be our responsibility – as leaders of China and the United States – to ensure that the competition between our countries does not veer into conflict,” Biden told Xi while reporters were present at the onset of the summit.[1]
In a similar vein, Xi compared China and the U.S. to two giant ships sailing across the ocean. “It is important for the two sides to keep a steady hand on the tiller, so that the two giant ships will break waves and forge ahead together, without losing direction or speed, still less colliding with each other,” he reportedly told Biden.[2]
In an assessment of the exchange, Susan Shirk, chair of the 21st Century China Center at UC San Diego, said, “They want to a put a floor under a deteriorating relationship….The idea is to try to calm things down and prevent things from going from bad to worse.”[3]
What is very clear, however, is that beyond putting a temporary “floor” beneath their “deteriorating relationship,” Biden and Xi achieved very little in preventing a future “collision” between the two powers.
Clearly, the most sensitive and divisive issue in U.S.-China relations is Taiwan. Going into the summit, both sides had been raising tensions over the island, with the U.S. stepping up efforts to promote Taiwan’s international status and China intensifying its military pressure, as with its intrusion into Taiwan’s air-defense zone.
Any genuine reduction in U.S.-China tensions will require some effort to defuse the Taiwan issue, notably by finding a path for the peaceful resolution of the island’s status. But President Biden reiterated Washington’s commitment to Taiwan’s defense, while President Xi affirmed Beijing’s determination to ensure the reunification of the island with the mainland – by peaceful means if possible, or violent means if necessary.
“We have patience and will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts,” Xi reportedly told Biden. “That said, should the separatist forces for Taiwan independence provoke us, force our hands or even cross the red line, we will be compelled to take resolute measures.”
Xi also warned Biden against taking any steps that might embolden pro-independence forces on Taiwan. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s account of his remarks, Xi “noted” the rise in tensions over Taiwan, which he ascribed to “the repeated attempts by the Taiwan authorities to look for U.S. support for their independence agenda as well as the intention of some Americans to use Taiwan to contain China,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said of Xi’s comments. “Such moves are extremely dangerous, just like playing with fire. Whoever plays with fire will get burned.”[4]
The dangers of a “new Cold War” and an unintended U.S.-China conflagration also came up in their conversations, but with scant attempt at a solution. Xi reportedly spoke of the need to manage differences carefully, “to prevent China-U.S. relations from getting derailed or out of control,” while Biden reportedly “underscored the importance of managing strategic risks.” In this regard, “he noted the need for common-sense guardrails to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict and to keep lines of communication open.”[5] But nothing specific, beyond this.
There was some speculation, going into the meeting, that Biden and Xi would agree to initiate a “strategic stability dialogue” similar to that now under way between the U.S. and Russia, intended to devise measures for controlling advances in nuclear and non-nuclear weaponry, such as hypersonic missiles. Such a dialogue would be exceedingly valuable, given the utter lack of any arms control conversations between Beijing and Washington. But while White House officials, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, have suggested that the groundwork for such talks was laid during the summit[6], there is no evidence from official U.S. or Chinese sources that this is indeed the case. Instead, we can only expect an intensification of the burgeoning U.S.-China nuclear arms race.
Both Biden and Xi expressed a desire to collaborate on other issues, including climate change, energy, international trade, and pandemic prevention, calling for further conversations between high-level officials from both their countries to explore avenues of cooperation. But again, nothing of a specific nature was announced.
In the final analysis, the summit can be said to have achieved its primary objective – of lowering the temperature in U.S.-China relations. But it did nothing to clear the path for future accommodation, and in some areas, especially Taiwan, made plain the fact that violent conflict is becoming more likely, not less so.
ENDNOTES:
1. As cited in “In hours-long virtual meeting, Biden and Xi manage strained U.S.-China ties,” Washington Post, Nov. 16, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-to-meet-with-chinese-president-in-virtual-summit/2021/11/14/6f59b36c-45bb-11ec-973c-be864f938c72_story.html
2. “President Xi Jinping Had a Virtual Meeting with US President Joe Biden,” PRC Foreign Ministry, Nov. 16, 2021, https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1919223.shtml
3. As cited in “China lauds Biden-Xi summit as start of more equal relationship,” Washington Post, Nov. 16, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/xi-biden-summit-china-reaction/2021/11/16/f28cd98e-4657-11ec-beca-3cc7103bd814_story.html
4. See note 2.
5. “Readout of President Biden’s Virtual Meeting with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China,” U.S. Dept. of State, Nov. 16, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/11/16/readout-of-president-bidens-virtual-meeting-with-president-xi-jinping-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china/
6. “Biden, Xi Open to Nuclear-Arms Talks, White House Says,” Wall Street Journal, Nov. 17, 2021, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-xi-open-to-nuclear-arms-talks-white-house-says-11637098592
Biden’s Sept. 21 UN Speech Stresses Diplomacy, But Hints at Unrelenting Conflict with China
Analysis by Michael Klare, Co-Founder, Committee for a Sane U.S.-China Policy, Sept. 24, 2021
In his address the UN General Assembly on Sept. 21, President Biden stressed that the United States was prepared to place renewed emphasis on diplomacy in its relations with other nations, and to engage in cooperative efforts to overcome global perils such as climate change, pandemics, and endemic poverty. The underlying message of his speech, however, was unrelenting hostility towards China.
Not once did Biden mention China by name in his speech. But the delegates present in the room and those watching from afar could have no doubt he was referring to China in numerous comments about the threats to global peace, human rights, and economic fairness and the need to counter those threats in a consistent, organized fashion.
Speaking of the challenges posed by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, for example, he said, “we’ll work together with our democratic partners to ensure that new advances [in such technologies] are used to lift people up, to solve problems, and advance human freedom – not to suppress dissent or target minority communities,” an obvious reference to China’s repression of the Uyghur population of Xinjiang province.
In another obvious reference to the Uyghurs (and to pro-democracy forces in Hong Kong), he said, “The future will belong to those who give their people the ability to breathe free, not those who seek to suffocate their people with an iron hand.”
On economic matters, he said, “We will pursue new rules of global trade and economic growth that strive to level the playing field so that it’s not artificially tipped in favor of any one country at the expense of others and every nation has a right and the opportunity to compete fairly” – surely not a reference to U.S. economic dominance, but to Chinese behavior.
He followed this by saying, “We’ll continue to uphold the longstanding rules and norms that have formed the guardrails of international engagement for decades that have been essential to the development of nations around the world – bedrock commitments like freedom of navigation [and] adherence to international laws and treaties.” Again, it’s obvious he wasn’t speaking of the U.S. or its allies, but of China’s contested claims to islands in the South China Sea.
He was, no doubt, again thinking of the South China Sea when he said, “We’ll stand up for our allies and our friends and oppose attempts by stronger countries to dominate weaker ones, whether through changes to territory by force, economic coercion, technological exploitation, or disinformation.”
Alongside these obvious criticisms of China, Biden hinted at his administration’s efforts to build a military coalition to contain China’s rise. In a passage on his determination to rebuild alliances, he said, “We elevated the Quad partnership among Australia, India, Japan, and the United States to take on challenges ranging from health security to climate to emerging technologies” – a totally disingenuous comment, given that the Quad is largely a military partnership with the sole aim of containing China. This followed, as all those present at the UN were undoubtedly aware, the U.S. decision – announced two days earlier – to sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia intended for joint military operations aimed at China.
He then said, with no apparent irony, “we’re not seeking – I’ll say it again – we are not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs.” But anyone who heard Biden speak or who reads a transcript of Biden’s remarks can have no doubt but that is the inevitable outcome of his anti-China foreign policy.
For a full transcript of Biden’s comments at the UN, click here
‘China is not the Soviet Union’ says Beijing’s envoy to Washington
Kinling Lo, South China Morning Post, Sept. 1, 2021
[NOTE: In this article, the author reports on a virtual address given by Qin Gang, China’s new ambassador to the U.S., before the National Committee on US-China Relations on Aug. 31. According to the article, Amb. Qin warned Washington not to treat China in the same antagonistic way it dealt with the former Soviet Union and called for increasing official exchanges between the two nations.]
Qin, who took up his position in late July, said it was a “misjudgment” for the US to believe it needed to deal with China from a “position of strength” and win a new “cold war” against China. “China is not the Soviet Union,” he said.
“The extreme China policy of the previous US administration has caused serious damage to our relations, and such a situation has not changed. It is even continuing,” Qin said. “We are willing to strengthen communication with the US between the departments of foreign affairs, economy, finance, law enforcement and the military, and rebuild dialogue mechanisms. This is to accurately understand each other‘s policy intentions, properly manage and handle differences in a constructive way.”
Biden Administration Tightens Screws on China, China Responds Angrily: “Catastrophe” Awaits
Analysis by Michael Klare, Co-Founder, Committee for a Sane U.S.-China Policy, August 6, 2021
During the final week of July, the Biden administration conducted a coordinated series of diplomatic endeavors intended to solidify multilateral opposition to China’s rise in the Asia-Pacific region. These activities included visits to Japan, South Korea, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on July 18-26; and visits to Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on July 26-30. In each of their appearances, Sherman and Austin emphasized America’s disagreements with China and its determination to resist the PRC on multiple levels. Not surprisingly, these statements provoked a harsh response from Chinese officials. Bottom line: the administration’s campaign to isolate China will ensure that relations with China will continue to deteriorate, making cooperation on climate change and other key global issues increasing impossible and military action ever more likely.
Wendy Sherman’s visits to Japan and South Korea on July 20-21 were largely intended to bolster U.S. ties with those key allies and to further advance the Biden administration’s strategy of building a web of anti-Chinese alliances in Asia, usually described by U.S. officials as “the rules-based international order.”
While in Tokyo, Deputy Secretary Sherman met with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mori Takeo on July 20, where the two diplomats reportedly “reaffirmed their commitment to the U.S.-Japan Alliance, which remains the cornerstone of peace, security, and prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific region and the rules-based international order.”[1]
Sherman then met with both Mori and South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong Kun. In a joint statement, the three officials reaffirmed their commitment to resisting China’s assertive behavior in the Asia-Pacific region, including its menacing behavior toward Taiwan and the Japanese-claimed Senkaku Islands (also claimed by China) in the East China Sea. (Japan now administers the islands, and the U.S. has pledged to assist Japanese defense forces there if they come under attack by Chinese forces.) According to the State Dept., the three “reiterated opposition to all activities that undermine, destabilize, or threaten the rules-based international order; affirmed the need to maintain an inclusive, free, and open Indo-Pacific; [and] opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea.”[2] At a joint press conference on July 20, Sherman went further, saying, “When countries take actions that run counter to the United States’ interests or that threaten our partners and allies, we will not let those challenges go unanswered.”[3]
Wendy Sherman’s visit to Tianjin in China on July 26 represented the highest-level official visit to the PRC by an administration official since Biden assumed office in January. While in Tianjin (a city approximately one hour northeast of Beijing), she met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other senior government officials. From all accounts, Sherman used the occasion to inform the Chinese leadership that the Biden administration would prioritize competition and confrontation with Beijing over cooperation on matters of common concern – a shift from earlier Biden statements, which seemed to place competition and cooperation on an even keel. This is evident not only from the Chinese reaction (discussed below) but also from the State Department “readout” of the encounter.
“The Deputy Secretary raised concerns in private – as we have in public – about a range of PRC actions that run counter to our values and interests and those of our allies and partners, and that undermine the international rules-based order. In particular, she raised our concerns about human rights, including Beijing’s anti-democratic crackdown in Hong Kong; the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang; abuses in Tibet; and the curtailing of media access and freedom of the press. She also spoke about our concerns about Beijing’s conduct in cyberspace; across the Taiwan Strait; and in the East and South China Seas.”[4]
For those familiar with Chinese leadership thinking, this is a non-starter for cooperation: Beijing views its actions in Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang as justified by national security, and rejects any notion that its crackdown on the Uyghurs constitutes “genocide.” Likewise, it views Taiwan as an internal matter, and disputes Washington’s assessment of its behavior in cyberspace and the East and South China Seas. These certainly are issues that deserve serious investigation and condemnation where appropriate – and the Committee for a Sane U.S. China Policy has been critical of Beijing’s repressive behavior in Hong Kong and Xinjiang – but this is not the way to initiate constructive diplomatic relations with China.
After noting more complains by Sherman about China, including its failure to allow the World Health Organization to conduct further research on the origins of Covid-19 in Wuhan, the State Department readout added this: “At the same time, the Deputy Secretary affirmed the importance of cooperation in areas of global interest, such as the climate crisis, counternarcotics, nonproliferation.” Given what came before, it’s hardly likely that her Chinese interlocutors warmed up to this half-hearted offer of collaboration.
Lloyd Austin’s visit to Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines on July 26-30 was consistent with the administration’s goal of building a network of pro-Western states surrounding China, vaguely resembling NATO. At the core of this network is the “Quad,” an anti-China alliance of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. In his Singapore speech on July 27, Austin stated that “structures like the Quad make the region's security architecture even more durable.”
While in Singapore, Austin addressed the Asian branch of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, in which he described the U.S.-China relationship as one of intense competition on every front: “This is a competition, [and] not just in the military realm,” he declared. It’s a competition in the economic realm, in science and technology, and you name it.”
Austin said he hoped that this competition will not result in conflict with China, but suggested that the best way to prevent this from happening was the preservation of U.S. military superiority vis-à-vis toward China – a natural invitation to an everlasting arms race. “We're also making sure that we … continue to have [a] credible military capability … that would deter anyone that would want to … make the mistake of taking us on.”
In his speech, Austin pledged to continue U.S. military support for Taiwan, and warned China against attacking U.S. allies in the East and South China Seas. He also and condemned Beijing’s “genocide” of the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang – a charge first leveled by Mike Pompeo during the final months of the Trump administration and since embraced by the Biden administration, without providing documentation.[5]
While in Vietnam, Austin sought to promote closer military ties between the U.S. and Vietnam, particularly with respect to countering Chinese influence in the South China Sea. Vietnam, a former U.S. adversary, has sought limited U.S. military aid to counter China’s power in the South China Sea, where both have tussled over competing offshore territorial disputes.[6]
While in the Philippines, Austin announced that the two countries would renew the U.S.-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which allows U.S. military forces to engage in joint military exercises with their Filipino counterparts on their territory. The Philippines’ mercurial president, Rodrigo Duterte, said a year ago that he would let the VFA lapse, but changed his mind during Austin’s visit.[7]
Chinese reaction to the Sherman and Austin visits was harsh. After Sherman met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng in Tianjin, Xie issued a statement condemning the U.S. for “demonizing” China and conducting a “highly misguided … and dangerous policy” toward the PRC. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Xie told Sherman, “the China-US relationship is now in a stalemate and faces serious difficulties. Fundamentally, it is because some Americans portray China as an ‘imagined enemy’…. It seems that a whole-of-government and whole-of-society campaign is being waged to bring China down…. We urge the United States to change its highly misguided mindset and dangerous policy.”[8]
Foreign Minister Wang Yi provided an equally harsh assessment of his own meeting with Wendy Sherman in Tianjin. According to the Ministry’s account of his remarks, he complained to Sherman that “the new U.S. administration has in general continued its predecessor’s extreme and erroneous China policy [and] stepped up containment and suppression on China.” This is due to Washington’s “misperceptions” of China, he said. “The United States, regarding China as the uppermost rival or even tending to consider China as an opponent, attempts to impede and disrupt China's modernization drive. Such an attempt is doomed to fail for now, and is even more so in the future.”
Wang went on to warn the administration from interfering in China’s internal affairs, including its policies regarding Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. “As for the Taiwan question, it’s even more important,” he asserted. “Although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have not yet been reunified, the fact that the Chinese mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China and Taiwan is part of China has never changed and will never change. If ‘Taiwan independence’ forces dare to provoke, China has the right to take any necessary measure to stop it. We urge the U.S. side to honor its commitment on Taiwan question and act prudently.”
Wang ended on an ominous note: “China is the largest developing country and the United States is the largest developed country, and neither side can replace or defeat the other. We have a clear view on where China-U.S. relations are headed, that is, to find a way for two major countries with different systems, cultures and stages of development to coexist peacefully on this planet through dialogue. It would be even better if it could be mutually beneficial. This is a good thing for both China and the United States, and a great boon for the world. Otherwise, it would be a catastrophe.”[9]
Endnotes:
[3] https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-japan-1ab747d5698354fc46af03dda6c90682
[4] https://www.state.gov/deputy-secretary-shermans-visit-to-the-peoples-republic-of-china/
[8] https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjbxw/t1894983.shtml
[9] https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjb_663304/wjbz_663308/activities_663312/t1895278.shtml
NOTE: This speech, delivered by President Xi Jinping on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), provides a valuable summary of the CPC leadership’s thinking on the major issues facing China today. As will be seen, a major focus of Xi’s speech is the great “rejuvenation” of the Chinese nation, a term encompassing China’s transformation from a backward, colonized, and impoverished country into a modern, wealthy, and powerful one. For Xi, the process of “rejuvenation” remains unfinished, and will require further strides in economic, technological, and military prowess. The speech also summarizes Beijing’s stance on Hong Kong and Taiwan, and U.S. efforts to “lecture” China about human rights and other matters.
The Chinese nation is a great nation. With a history of more than 5,000 years, China has made indelible contributions to the progress of human civilization. After the Opium War of 1840, however, China was gradually reduced to a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society and suffered greater ravages than ever before. The country endured intense humiliation, the people were subjected to great pain, and the Chinese civilization was plunged into darkness. Since that time, national rejuvenation has been the greatest dream of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation….
Since the very day of its founding, the Party has made seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation its aspiration and mission. All the struggle, sacrifice, and creation through which the Party has united and led the Chinese people over the past hundred years has been tied together by one ultimate theme—bringing about the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. To realize national rejuvenation, the Party united and led the Chinese people in fighting bloody battles with unyielding determination, achieving great success in the new-democratic revolution….
The victory of the new-democratic revolution put an end to China’s history as a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society, to the state of total disunity that existed in old China, and to all the unequal treaties imposed on our country by foreign powers and all the privileges that imperialist powers enjoyed in China. It created the fundamental social conditions for realizing national rejuvenation….
Through tenacious struggle, the Party and the Chinese people have shown the world that the Chinese nation has achieved the tremendous transformation from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong, and that China’s national rejuvenation has become a historical inevitability….
We must accelerate the modernization of national defense and the armed forces. A strong country must have a strong military, as only then can it guarantee the security of the nation. At the point that it was engaged in violent struggle, the Party came to recognize the irrefutable truth that it must command the gun and build a people’s military of its own. The people’s military has made indelible achievements on behalf of the Party and the people. It is a strong pillar for safeguarding our socialist country and preserving national dignity, and a powerful force for protecting peace in our region and beyond.
On the journey ahead, we must fully implement the Party’s thinking on strengthening the military in the new era as well as our military strategy for the new era, maintain the Party’s absolute leadership over the people’s armed forces, and follow a Chinese path to military development…. We will elevate our people’s armed forces to world-class standards so that we are equipped with greater capacity and more reliable means for safeguarding our national sovereignty, security, and development interests….
On the journey ahead, we will remain committed to promoting peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, to an independent foreign policy of peace, and to the path of peaceful development. We will work to build a new type of international relations and a human community with a shared future, promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative through joint efforts, and use China’s new achievements in development to provide the world with new opportunities. The Party will continue to work with all peace-loving countries and peoples to promote the shared human values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom. We will continue to champion cooperation over confrontation, to open up rather than closing our doors, and to focus on mutual benefits instead of zero-sum games. We will oppose hegemony and power politics, and strive to keep the wheels of history rolling toward bright horizons.
We Chinese are a people who uphold justice and are not intimidated by threats of force. As a nation, we have a strong sense of pride and confidence. We have never bullied, oppressed, or subjugated the people of any other country, and we never will. By the same token, we will never allow any foreign force to bully, oppress, or subjugate us. Anyone who would attempt to do so will find themselves on a collision course with a great wall of steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people….
We will stay true to the letter and spirit of the principle of One Country, Two Systems, under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong, and the people of Macao administer Macao, both with a high degree of autonomy. We will ensure that the central government exercises overall jurisdiction over Hong Kong and Macao, and implement the legal systems and enforcement mechanisms for the two special administrative regions to safeguard national security. While protecting China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests, we will ensure social stability in Hong Kong and Macao, and maintain lasting prosperity and stability in the two special administrative regions.
Resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification is a historic mission and an unshakable commitment of the Communist Party of China. It is also a shared aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation. We will uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and advance peaceful national reunification. All of us, compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, must come together and move forward in unison. We must take resolute action to utterly defeat any attempt toward “Taiwan independence,” and work together to create a bright future for national rejuvenation. No one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Biden Defense Budget Aggressively Focused on China
Analysis by Michael Klare, June 10, 2021
The $715 billion Department of Defense (DoD) Budget Request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 released by the Biden Administration on May 28 calls for a Pentagon-wide effort to prepare for full-scale war with People’s Republic of China. Unlike in past years, when the Armed Forces were expected to prepare for a multitude of threats – ranging from terrorist strikes to regional conflicts in the Middle East and Asia – this year’s budget request subordinates all other such concerns to the overriding task of confronting the PRC. Even Russia – once partnered with China as a “great-power adversary” – has been downgraded as a secondary threat when compared to that purportedly posed by China.
As explained by the Pentagon, China’s military poses the greatest threat to U.S. security and so constitutes the “pacing challenge” – the most fearsome peril that U.S. forces must be capable of overpowering in any future war. If capable of defeating China, the logic goes, America’s Armed Services (the “Joint Force”) will be more than adequate to overcome any lesser threat, including Russia and North Korea.
“China poses the greatest long-term challenge to the United States, and strengthening deterrence against China will require DoD to work in concert with other instruments of national power,” the DoD’s Defense Budget Overview for FY 2022 asserts. “A combat-credible Joint Force will underpin a whole-of-nation approach to competition and ensure the Nation leads from a position of strength. Accordingly, DoD will prioritize China and its military modernization as our pacing challenge.”
Because China has modernized its armed forces in recent years, the Pentagon further argues, the United States must spend many hundreds of billions of dollars to procure new high-tech weaponry aimed at overpowering even the most advanced Chinese hardware. In some cases, this might mean abandoning older weapons systems developed for counterinsurgency operations in order to release funds for the acquisition of more modern technology.
“To meet the strategic challenges posed by an increasingly assertive China,” the Budget Overview states, the DOD will “shift resources away from vulnerable platforms and weapons systems that are ill-suited to advanced threats and to redirect investments to cutting-edge technologies and capabilities that will determine our military and national security advantage in the future.”
In particular, the Biden budget prioritizes investments in long-range missiles – some capable of reaching hypersonic speeds (greater than 5 times the speed of sound) – and additional warships, both crewed and uncrewed. Among the new missiles on the Pentagon’s wish-list are some whose range would exceed the limits in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty of 1987, from which the Trump administration withdrew in August 2019.
As noted in the Budget Overview, the “FY 2022 PB [presidential budget] request “improves the Joint Force’s long-range strike capability and capacity, which multiple DoD-internal and -external analyses have identified as critical to U.S. warfighting capability and a credible deterrent for the Indo-Pacific region. This includes…land-based conventional fires capabilities with ranges exceeding the 500km limit previously imposed by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty; and hypersonic capabilities, such as the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike capability. The FY 2022 PB request also expands both shipbuilding activities and shipbuilding capacity, which are necessary to maintain U.S. maritime superiority in the Indo-Pacific, given the centrality of this domain to operations in theater.”
Specifically, the proposed budget request includes $6.6 billion in FY 2022 “to develop and field multi-Service, multi-domain [i.e., air, sea, ground] offensive Long Range Fires,” with the aim of producing air-launched hypersonic missiles by FY 2022, deploying an Army hypersonic missile battery by FY 2023, and deploying ship-launched hypersonic missiles in FY 2025. (Many additional billions will be needed to move these programs forward beyond FY 2022.)
Another $22.6 billion is slated for shipbuilding in FY 2022, aimed at adding two new attack submarines to the fleet plus one new guided-missile destroyer and the first of a new class of advanced frigates, the Constellation, plus several additional warships.
Other priorities in the FY 2022 budget include increased spending on emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and cyber – investments that are claimed by the DoD to be essential in overcoming alleged Chinese advantages in these areas.
As part of its effort to counter China’s growing military capabilities, the Budget Overview notes, “DoD is leveraging our technological advantages and investing in cutting-edge technologies that will deliver new warfighting advantages to our forces, including artificial intelligence, hypersonic technology, cyber, and quantum computing, among others.”
The FY 2022 request includes $112 billion for Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) – the largest amount ever requested for this purpose (and an amount equal to over half of the entire Chinese military budget for 2021). Much of this amount will be devoted to the further development of weapons already slated for production, such as the F-35 stealth fighter and the Columbia-class nuclear submarine, but substantial amounts are also designated for research on emerging technologies. For example, $874 million is to be allocated to research on artificial intelligence (a 50% increase over FY 2021), $398 million on 5G wireless communications, and $3.8 billion on advanced hypersonics development. In addition, $20.6 billion is allocated for military space activities and $10.4 billion for cyberspace operations – both under the pretext that China poses an extraordinary threat in these areas.
In addition to all this, the FY 2022 Pentagon budget includes $5.1 billion for the “Pacific Deterrence Initiative” (PDI), a program demanded by Congress in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. These funds, the DoD notes, are intended to “build forces that are resilient, ready and postured to respond quickly and effectively against aggression; and [to] help strengthen Indo-Pacific alliances and partnerships that are central to the U.S. vision of a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific regional order.” Most of the funds will be used to supplement those identified above to enhance U.S. firepower in the region, especially through the deployment of long-range missiles, but some will also be used to increase joint training with U.S. allies in the region and provide them with additional military aid.
A thorough examination of the Pentagon’s FY 2022 budget request would reveal many additional items aimed at enhancing the U.S. military’s capacity to overpower China in any future military confrontation. For example, the budget includes $52.4 billion for new fighter aircraft and other Air Force systems, much of which ultimately will be devoted to air operations in the Pacific theater.
Now that the Biden administration has submitted its FY 2022 military budget, it will be up to Congress to determine which of these requests will be enacted into law and which set aside. Judging by the current, anti-Chinese mood on Capital Hill, the final defense budget is likely to include more measures aimed at fighting China, not less. It is likely, then, the final pricetag for the FY 2022 budget will be greater than the $715 billion proposed by the White House.
Whatever final amount Congress ultimately agrees on, there is no doubt that military and political leaders in China will view this request as evidence of a single-minded drive to prevent China’s rise and erode its defensive capabilities in the Western Pacific — an assessment that will no doubt prompt them to enhance their own military capabilities, prompting calls for even more China-oriented military spending by U.S. lawmakers and an ever-accelerating arms race with no end in sight.
In his remarks at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Commencement Ceremony on May 19, 2021, President Biden spoke of the emerging global challenges to the United States and the Coast Guard, including climate change and, in particular, China’s alleged threat to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Biden also reaffirmed the new U.S. commitment to work with Taiwan’s coast guard – another affront to China. Here are excerpts from his remarks:
For decades, the United States has underwritten international maritime security. We and our partners have kept the sea lanes open and secure. We developed clear rules of the road, behavior is in bounds — important — out of bounds for other nations — to ensure that we can share peacefully in the natural bounty of the sea.
And for decades, those rules supported — supported global economic strength that benefited nations everywhere and helped people around the world develop their economic potential. But, as you know, increasingly, we’re seeing those rules challenged, both by the rapid advance of technology and the disruptive actions of nations like China and Russia — with whom I’ve had direct discussions of this with President Xi as well as President Putin.
Longstanding, basic maritime principles like freedom of mari- — of navigation are a bedrock of a global economic and global security. When nations try to game the system or tip the rules in their favor, it throws everything off balance. That’s why we are so adamant that these areas of the world that are the arteries of trade and shipping remain peaceful — whether that’s the South China Sea, the Arabian Gulf, and, increasingly, the Arctic.
It’s of vital interest to America’s foreign policy to secure unimpeded flow of global commerce. And it won’t happen without us taking an active role to set the norms of conduct, to shape them around democratic values, not those of autocrats….
So as we work together with our democratic partners around the world to both update the rules for this new age — to hold all of us accountable to living up to those rules, your mission — your mission will become even more global and even more important. You have an essential role in our efforts to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Our new agreement for the Coast Guard to partner with Taiwan will help ensure that we’re positioned to better respond to shared threats in the region and to conduct coordinated humanitarian and environmental missions.
(The full text of Biden’s address can be accessed here)
President Biden’s April 28 Address to a Joint Session of Congress Emphasized Competition and Confrontation with China
In a major address to a Joint Session of Congress on April 28, President Biden spelled out the priorities for his administration. These largely focused on improving America’s ailing infrastructure, enhancing public education, and lifting impoverished Americans out of poverty. In presenting these priorities, he repeatedly framed them in terms of enhancing America’s capacity to compete with China to “win the future” – an odd expression, as if the future was a prize up for grabs. In his few comments on national security, moreover, he declared that confronting China in the Indo-Pacific region was his number one priority. Below are selected passages from his address. The full text can be found here
We’re in a competition with China and other countries to win the 21st Century.
There’s no reason the blades for wind turbines can’t be built in Pittsburgh instead of Beijing. No reason why American workers can’t lead the world in the production of electric vehicles and batteries.
We will see more technological change in the next 10 years – than we saw in the last 50 years. And we’re falling behind in that competition. Decades ago we used to invest 2% of our GDP on research and development. Today, we spend less than 1%. China and other countries are closing in fast.
The investments I’ve proposed tonight also advance a foreign policy that benefits the middle class. That means making sure every nation plays by the same rules in the global economy, including China.
In my discussion with President Xi, I told him that we welcome the competition – and that we are not looking for conflict. But I made absolutely clear that I will defend American interests across the board. America will stand up to unfair trade practices that undercut American workers and industries, like subsidies for state-owned enterprises and the theft of American technologies and intellectual property.
I also told President Xi that we will maintain a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific just as we do with NATO in Europe – not to start conflict – but to prevent conflict. And, I told him what I’ve said to many world leaders – that America won’t back away from our commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms. No responsible American president can remain silent when basic human rights are violated. A president has to represent the essence of our country.
China to U.S.: Back Off and Calm Down
Comments by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang in a virtual dialogue with the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, April 23, 2021
Below is a summary of the comments made by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang from Beijing in a virtual dialogue with the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations on April 23, 2021, as provided by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Wang Yi said that the Presidents of the two countries had an important phone conversation on the eve of the Chinese New Year, charting the course for the relationship. The Anchorage dialogue [March 18-19, 2021] kicked off face-to-face interactions at the high level in the context of COVID-19. But the new administration of the United States, in shaping its China policy, has not stepped out of the shadow of the previous administration, has not got over its misperception of China, and has not found the right way to engage with China.
Wang Yi shared the following five points on China-U.S. relations from a strategic perspective. First, we hope that the United States will view China's development in an objective and rational way. China is committed to a path of peaceful development, one that underlines peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation with countries around the world. China never seeks global hegemony. China will blaze a path of peaceful rise distinct from the trajectory of traditional powers. The wisdom from China's millennia of history is that hegemony will lead to failure, and that a strong country should not seek hegemony….
Major countries in particular should uphold justice and observe norms, and lead by the power of example. The success of one side does not mean that the other side has to fail. The world is big enough to accommodate a more successful China and a more successful America. Decoupling from the world's second largest economy and turning against the 1.4 billion Chinese people will not help solve America's problems. It will cause chaos in the world.
Second, we hope that the United States will work with China to explore a new path of peaceful co-existence and mutually beneficial cooperation. The U.S. side defines China-U.S. relations as having competitive, cooperative and adversarial aspects. It blurs the distinction between the "mainstream" and "sub-stream" of the relations and reflects a lack of a clear direction and goal.
China has no intention to compete with the United States. What matters to us is constant progress and self-improvement. Confrontation will only lead to a lose-lose situation. Cooperation is the only right way forward and it should be a two-way street and mutually beneficial, instead of one side upping the ante and putting its interests first. The right approach to China-U.S. relations is to step up dialogue, deepen cooperation, narrow differences and avoid confrontation. The key is whether the United States can accept the peaceful rise of a major country with a different social system, history and culture, and in a different development stage; whether it can recognize the Chinese people's right to pursue development and a better life.
Third, we hope the United States will respect and accommodate the path and system China has chosen for itself. What has happened shows that China's socialist path with its own characteristics has not just leveled up the 1.4 billion Chinese people from poverty and backwardness, it also marks another major contribution of the Chinese nation to human progress. China's socialist democracy is a whole-process, most representative democracy. It embodies the will of the people, fits the country's realities, and is endorsed by the people. It is undemocratic in itself to label China as "authoritarian" or "dictatorship" simply because China's democracy takes a different form than that of the United States.
We advocate that each country can choose a development path in light of its own circumstances and its people's need, and we uphold the common values of humanity, i.e. peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. A peaceful world should nurture diverse civilizations. A stable order should accommodate different systems. And a confident major country should be inclusive to diverse values. The most important thing that we learned from decades of China-U.S. exchanges is that our difference in social system does not prevent us from seeking common ground while shelving differences and pursuing win-win cooperation and peaceful co-existence.
Fourth, we hope that the United States will practice true multilateralism. China has helped establish, contributed to and upheld the existing international system. The previous U.S. administration willfully walked away from international organizations, commitments and responsibilities, seriously disrupting the existing international system. We welcome the Biden administration to return to multilateralism. That said, China believes that true multilateralism means openness, inclusiveness, rule of law, consultation, cooperation, and keeping pace with the times. Multilateralism should not be used to form new opposing blocs or exclusive circles. We must uphold the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law. This represents true multilateralism in practice.
Fifth, we hope that the United States will not interfere in China's internal affairs. Sovereignty and territorial integrity are a country's core interests. China has no room for compromise on such a major issue of principle. Playing the "Taiwan card" is dangerous, like playing with fire. We hope that the United States will abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, and not send any wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" elements, or try to challenge, still less cross, China's policy red line. The Xinjiang-related issues are not about human rights, ethnicity or religion. They are about fighting violent terrorism, separatism and extremism. We welcome American friends to visit Xinjiang to see for themselves what it is really like there, and not fall for lies or rumors.
The enactment of the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR and the decision to improve Hong Kong's electoral system both serve to improve the system of One Country, Two Systems, ensure the sound and steady implementation of One Country, Two Systems, "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy, and achieve long-term security in Hong Kong. The United States should respect the Chinese government's efforts to implement One Country, Two Systems. A long-running feature of China's foreign policy is that all countries are equal regardless of their size. We do not act in a coercive way, and we firmly oppose any country doing so. But when China's national sovereignty and dignity are being coerced and undermined, we undoubtedly need to respond with reasonable and lawful actions to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests as well as international equity and justice.
China never threatens other countries with the use of force, builds military alliances, exports ideology, incites troubles in other countries' doorsteps or meddles in their affairs. Neither has China ever started a trade war or wantonly gone after foreign companies. We are prepared to work with other countries against any act of coercion in the world.
Biden Administration’s Discretionary Budget for Fiscal Year 2022 Emphasizes Military Competition with China
Analysis by Michael Klare, Co-Founder, Committee for a Sane U.S.-China Policy, April 2021
On April 9, 2021, the Biden administration submitted the President’s request for fiscal year (FY) 2022 discretionary funding to senior Congressional leaders. The request totals $769 billion in non-defense discretionary funding in FY 2022 and $753 billion for national defense programs, for a total of $1.5 trillion. The non-defense components emphasize improvements in public health, education, poverty reduction, and climate action; the defense component is heavily focused on bolstering U.S. military capabilities aimed at China, and to a lesser degree, those aimed at Russia. Indeed, the request “prioritizes the need to counter the threat from China” as the Pentagon’s “top challenge.”
The $753 request for national security includes $715 billion sought for the Department of Defense (DoD) and $38 billion for the Department of Energy, for use in the production and maintenance of nuclear weapons. Under the DoD request, the administration request identifies deterring China as its number one priority. “The President’s 2022 discretionary request,” it states,
· Deters China. The discretionary request prioritizes the need to counter the threat from China as the Department’s top challenge. The Department would also seek to deter destabilizing behavior by Russia. Leveraging the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and working together with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, DOD would ensure that the United States builds the concepts, capabilities, and posture necessary to meet these challenges.
[The “Pacific Defense Initiative” (PDI) is a measure added to the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) allocating additional funds for efforts to bolster U.S. military capabilities in the western Pacific and to enhance military ties with allies in the region. (For background on the PDI, see “Compromise defense bill confronts a rising China,” DefenseNews, Dec. 3, 2020.) ]
The next highest priority in the Biden request for FY 2022 is the accelerated development of advanced technologies – artificial intelligence, robotics, hypersonics, and so – to better overcome “near-peer” adversaries like China and Russia:
· The discretionary request prioritizes defense research, development, test, and evaluation funding to invest in breakthrough technologies that would drive innovation and underpin the development of next-generation defense capabilities.
This is followed by naval shipbuilding, another top DoD priority. This, too, is heavily oriented toward China, as the U.S. military believes a future conflict with that country will largely be fought from the sea and because of fears that China is building a large and capable navy. To overpower that threat, Pentagon leaders seek a vast expansion of the U.S. Navy. Accordingly, the request:
· Optimizes U.S. Naval Shipbuilding. Maintaining U.S. naval power is critical to reassuring allies and signaling U.S. resolve to potential adversaries. The discretionary request proposes executable and responsible investments in the U.S. Navy fleet. In addition, the discretionary request continues the recapitalization of the Nation’s strategic ballistic missile submarine fleet, and invests in remotely operated and autonomous systems and the next generation attack submarine program.
Next come two priorities associated with possible all-out combat with China and/or Russia: nuclear weapons modernization and acquisition of long-range missiles/artillery intended for deep strikes on enemy territory (called long range “fires”). In the latter category are hypersonic missiles of a type that would have been prohibited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty of 1987, from which the U.S. (under President Trump) withdrew in 2019.
· Modernizes the Nuclear Deterrent. The discretionary request maintains a strong, credible nuclear deterrent for the security of the Nation and U.S. allies. While the Administration is reviewing the U.S. nuclear posture, the discretionary request supports ongoing nuclear modernization programs while ensuring that these efforts are sustainable.
· Invests in Long-Range Fire Capabilities. The safety and security of the Nation requires a strong, sustainable, and responsive mix of long-range strike capabilities. The discretionary request invests in the development and testing of hypersonic strike capabilities while enhancing existing long-range strike capabilities to bolster deterrence and improve survivability and response timelines.
The remaining priorities are not specifically aimed at China, but are nevertheless intended to better prepare U.S. forces for high-intensity conflict with well-armed adversaries like China and Russia.
To read the complete discretionary budget request, Click Here
State Department Transcript of U.S.-Chinese Diplomatic Encounter in Anchorage, Alaska:
Secretary Antony J. Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Director Yang and State Councilor Wang at the Top of Their Meeting
U.S. Dept. of State, March 18, 2021
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, good afternoon, and welcome. On behalf of National Security Advisor Sullivan and myself, I want to welcome Director Yang and State Councilor Wang to Alaska, and to thank you very much for making the journey to be with us.
I just returned myself from meetings with Secretary of Defense Austin and our counterparts in Japan and the Republic of Korea, two of our nation’s closest allies. They were very interested in the discussions that we’ll have here today and tomorrow because the issues that we’ll raise are relevant not only to China and the United States, but to others across the region and indeed around the world. Our administration is committed to leading with diplomacy to advance the interests of the United States and to strengthen the rules-based international order.
That system is not an abstraction. It helps countries resolve differences peacefully, coordinate multilateral efforts effectively, and participate in global commerce with the assurance that everyone is following the same rules. The alternative to a rules-based order is a world in which might makes right and winners take all, and that would be a far more violent and unstable world for all of us. Today, we’ll have an opportunity to discuss key priorities, both domestic and global, so that China can better understand our administration’s intentions and approach.
We’ll also discuss our deep concerns with actions by China, including in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, cyber attacks on the United States, and economic coercion toward our allies. Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability. That’s why they’re not merely internal matters and why we feel an obligation to raise these issues here today.
I said that the United States relationship with China will be competitive where it should be, collaborative where it can be, adversarial where it must be. Our discussions here in Alaska, I suspect, will run the gamut. Our intent is to be direct about our concerns, direct about our priorities, with the goal of a more clear-eyed relationship between our countries moving forward. Thank you for being here.
DIRECTOR YANG: (Via interpreter) Secretary Blinken and Mr. Sullivan, the State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and I have come to Anchorage, the United States to have this strategic dialogue with the United States. We hope that this dialogue will be a sincere and candid one. Both China and the United States are major countries in the world, and together we shoulder important responsibilities to the peace, stability, and development of the world and the region. In China, we have just concluded the Lianghui, or the two sessions of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. During the sessions, we adopted the outline for the 14th five-year economic and social development plan and the long-range objectives through the year 2035.
For China, we are now in a historic year where we will move from finishing the first centenary goal to the second centenary goal, and by the year 2035 China will surely achieve basic modernization. And by the year 2050, China will achieve full modernization. China has made decisive achievements and important strategic gains in fighting COVID-19, and we have achieved a full victory in ending absolute poverty in China. China’s per capita GDP is only one-fifth of that of the United States, but we have managed to end absolute poverty for all people in China. And we hope that other countries, especially the advanced countries, will make similar efforts in this regard. And China has also made historic achievements in building the country into a moderately prosperous one in all respects. The Chinese people are wholly rallying around the Communist Party of China. Our values are the same as the common values of humanity. Those are: peace, development, fairness, justice, freedom, and democracy.
What China and the international community follow or uphold is the United Nations-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law, not what is advocated by a small number of countries of the so-called “rules-based” international order. And the United States has its style – United States-style democracy – and China has the Chinese-style democracy. It is not just up to the American people, but also the people of the world to evaluate how the United States has done in advancing its own democracy. In China’s case, after decades of reform and opening up, we have come a long way in various fields. In particular, we have engaged in tireless efforts to contribute to the peace and development of the world, and to upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
The wars in this world are launched by some other countries, which have resulted in massive casualties. But for China, what we have asked for, for other countries, is to follow a path of peaceful development, and this is the purpose of our foreign policy. We do not believe in invading through the use of force, or to topple other regimes through various means, or to massacre the people of other countries, because all of those would only cause turmoil and instability in this world. And at the end of the day, all of those would not serve the United States well.
So we believe that it is important for the United States to change its own image and to stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world. Many people within the United States actually have little confidence in the democracy of the United States, and they have various views regarding the Government of the United States. In China, according to opinion polls, the leaders of China have the wide support of the Chinese people. So no attempt to – the opinion polls conducted in the United States show that the leaders of China have the support of the Chinese people. No attempt to smear China’s social system would get anywhere. Facts have shown that such practices would only lead the Chinese people to rally more closely around the Communist Party of China and work steadily towards the goals that we have set for ourselves.
In 1952, China adopted its first five-year development plan, and now we are into the first year of the 14th five-year development plan. We will continue along this path, step by step. China’s development is not just about delivering benefits for the people of China, but also about contributing to the development of the world in the 21st century. China and the United States are both major countries and both shoulder important responsibilities. We must both contribute to the peace, stability, and development of the world in areas such as COVID-19, restoring economic activities in the world, and responding to climate change. There are many things that we can do together and where our interests converge.
So what we need to do is to abandon the Cold War mentality and the zero-sum game approach. We must change the way we think and make sure that in this century, the 21st century, countries big or small, particularly the big countries, should come united together to contribute to the future of humanity and build a community with a shared future for humankind. It’s also important for all of us to come together to build a new type of international relations, ensuring fairness, justice, and mutual respect. And on some regional issues, I think the problem is that the United States has exercised long-arm jurisdiction and suppression and overstretched the national security through the use of force or financial hegemony, and this has created obstacles for normal trade activities, and the United States has also been persuading some countries to launch attacks on China.
And as for China, we believe and we have handled import- and export-related issues according to scientific and technological standards. Secretary Blinken, you said you just came back from Japan and the ROK. Those two countries are China’s second and the third largest trading partners. ASEAN has now become China’s largest trading partner, overtaking the European Union and the United States. So we do hope that the United States will develop sound relations with all countries in the Asia-Pacific. We should have many mutual friends. This is the right way forward in the 21st century.
On the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden had a phone conversation. The two presidents agreed to step up communication, manage differences, and expand cooperation between our two countries. We are having this dialogue today to follow up on the common understanding of the two presidents reached during their phone conversation. And having this dialogue is, in fact, a decision made by the two presidents. So for the people of the two countries and the world, they’re hoping to see practical outcomes coming out of our dialogue. And with Xinjiang, Tibet, and Taiwan, they are an inalienable part of China’s territory. China is firmly opposed to U.S. interference in China’s internal affairs. We have expressed our staunch opposition to such interference and we will take firm actions in response.
On human rights, we hope that the United States will do better on human rights. China has made steady progress in human rights and the fact is that there are many problems within the United States regarding human rights, which is admitted by the U.S. itself as well. The United States has also said that countries can’t rely on force in today’s world to resolve the challenges we face. And it is a failure to use various means to topple the so-called “authoritarian” states. And the challenges facing the United States in human rights are deep-seated. They did not just emerge over the past four years, such as Black Lives Matter. It did not come up only recently. So we do hope that for our two countries, it’s important that we manage our respective affairs well instead of deflecting the blame on somebody else in this world.
And for China, we will manage our own affairs well, and we hope to deliver a better life for our 1.4 billion Chinese people. This is the goal of China’s diplomacy. And also, we will make our contribution to the peace and stability of the world. Since breaking the ice between our two countries in our engagement several decades ago, China and the United States have achieved a lot together. This is the result of the concerted efforts of the people with vision of both countries, and this past is a part of our achievements. Although so much has changed in this world, it is important that our two countries think about how we can work together and expand our cooperation under the new circumstances.
If there is competition between our two countries, I think the competition focuses on the economic aspect, and in this area, as I have said just now, for frictions in our economic engagement, it is important to respond to them in a rational way and seek win-win results. And China-U.S. trade has already achieved a lot, and we should do even better. The overwhelming majority of American businesses in China have said that China’s business environment is good and nobody has forced them to stay in China. They see a profit coming from their presence in China and they see immense opportunities in China. That’s why they are staying in China. And I believe that for our two countries, under the new circumstances, we need to enhance communication, properly manage our differences, and expand our cooperation instead of engaging in confrontation.
But between our two countries we’ve had confrontation in the past, and the result did not serve the United States well. What did the United States gain from that confrontation? I didn’t see any, and the only result was damages done to United States. And China will pull through and has pulled through such confrontation.
So the way we see the relationship with the United States is as President Xi Jinping has said – that is, we hope to see no confrontation, no conflict, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation with the United States. And actually, during the phone call between the presidents, President Biden himself also talked about the importance of having no conflict or confrontation between our two countries. So at our level, I think it’s vital that we do everything we can to fully and faithfully follow up and implement the understandings reached between our two presidents and bring back the China-U.S. relationship to the track of sound and steady growth.
On cyber attacks, let me say that whether it’s the ability to launch cyber attacks or the technologies that could be deployed, the United States is the champion in this regard. You can’t blame this problem on somebody else.
The United States itself does not represent international public opinion, and neither does the Western world. Whether judged by population scale or the trend of the world, the Western world does not represent the global public opinion. So we hope that when talking about universal values or international public opinion on the part of the United States, we hope the U.S. side will think about whether it feels reassured in saying those things, because the U.S. does not represent the world. It only represents the Government of the United States. I don’t think the overwhelming majority of countries in the world would recognize that the universal values advocated by the United States or that the opinion of the United States could represent international public opinion, and those countries would not recognize that the rules made by a small number of people would serve as the basis for the international order.
Biden’s CIA pick vows to focus on a rising China
Martin Matishak, Politico, Feb. 24, 2021
In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Feb. 24, CIA Director nominee William Burns said that countering China “is the biggest geopolitical test that we face.” Here are excerpts from his testimony, as reported by Politico:
“Out-competing China will be key to our national security in the days ahead,” Burns testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. “That will require a long-term clear-eyed bipartisan strategy underpinned by domestic renewal and solid intelligence.”
For the CIA, “that will mean intensified focus and urgency, continually strengthening its already impressive cadre of China specialists, expanding its language skills, aligning personnel and resource allocation for the long haul and employing a whole of agency approach to the operational and analytical challenges of this crucial threat,” he said.
Biden’s ‘Interim National Security Strategic Guidance’ Emphasizes Competition with China
On March 3, The Biden White House issued an “Interim National Security Strategic Guidance” laying out the core principles of its national security thinking for the months and years ahead. In contrast to former President Trump’s “America First” posture, it emphasizes collective action to overcome global problems like climate change, pandemics, and nuclear proliferation. But, in concert with other administration statements, it identifies a rising China as America’s greatest national security challenge and calls for all-out competition with China on multiple fronts. Here are excerpts from the document that pertain to U.S.-China relations:
We must also contend with the reality that the distribution of power across the world is changing, creating new threats. China, in particular, has rapidly become more assertive. It is the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system…. Both Beijing and Moscow have invested heavily in efforts meant to check U.S. strengths and prevent us from defending our interests and allies around the world.
…Defending America also means setting clear priorities within our defense budget. First and foremost, we will continue to invest in the people who serve in our all-volunteer force and their families. We will sustain readiness and ensure that the U.S. Armed Forces remain the best trained and equipped force in the world. In the face of strategic challenges from an increasingly assertive China and destabilizing Russia, we will assess the appropriate structure, capabilities, and sizing of the force, and, working with the Congress, shift our emphasis from unneeded legacy platforms and weapons systems to free up resources for investments in the cutting-edge technologies and capabilities that will determine our military and national security advantage in the future.
…Taken together, this agenda will strengthen our enduring advantages, and allow us to prevail in strategic competition with China or any other nation. The most effective way for America to out-compete a more assertive and authoritarian China over the long-term is to invest in our people, our economy, and our democracy. By restoring U.S. credibility and reasserting forward-looking global leadership, we will ensure that America, not China, sets the international agenda, working alongside others to shape new global norms and agreements that advance our interests and reflect our values. By bolstering and defending our unparalleled network of allies and partners, and making smart defense investments, we will also deter Chinese aggression and counter threats to our collective security, prosperity, and democratic way of life.
At the same time, revitalizing our core strengths is necessary but not sufficient. In many areas, China’s leaders seek unfair advantages, behave aggressively and coercively, and undermine the rules and values at the heart of an open and stable international system. When the Chinese government’s behavior directly threatens our interests and values, we will answer Beijing’s challenge. We will confront unfair and illegal trade practices, cyber theft, and coercive economic practices that hurt American workers, undercut our advanced and emerging technologies, and seek to erode our strategic advantage and national competitiveness. We will ensure that our supply chains for critical national security technologies and medical supplies are secure. We will continue to defend access to the global commons, including freedom of navigation and overflight rights, under international law. We will position ourselves, diplomatically and militarily, to defend our allies. We will support China’s neighbors and commercial partners in defending their rights to make independent political choices free of coercion or undue foreign influence. We will promote locally-led development to combat the manipulation of local priorities. We will support Taiwan, a leading democracy and a critical economic and security partner, in line with longstanding American commitments. We will ensure that U.S. companies do not sacrifice American values in doing business in China. And we will stand up for democracy, human rights, and human dignity, including in Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet. On all these issues, we will work to forge a common approach with likeminded countries.
We also recognize that strategic competition does not, and should not, preclude working with China when it is in our national interest to do so. Indeed, renewing America’s advantages ensures that we will engage China from a position of confidence and strength. We will conduct practical, results-oriented diplomacy with Beijing and work to reduce the risk of misperception and miscalculation. We will welcome the Chinese government’s cooperation on issues such as climate change, global health security, arms control, and nonproliferation where our national fates are intertwined. As we do, we will rally our allies and partners to join us, pooling our negotiating leverage and showing our collective power and resolve.
President Biden Has First Telephone Exchange with Chinese President Xi Jinping
On February 10, 2021, President Joe Biden had his first telephone exchange with President Xi Jinping of China. Biden only spoke to Xi after speaking with many other world leaders, including President Putin of Russia, despite the fact that China possesses the world’s second largest economy and poses multiple challenges to U.S. foreign policy.
According to the official State Department “readout” of their conversation, Biden “shared his greetings and well wishes with the Chinese people on the occasion of Lunar New Year” and “affirmed his priorities of protecting the American people’s security, prosperity, health, and way of life, and preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
He also “underscored his fundamental concerns about Beijing’s coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan.”
The readout added: “The two leaders also exchanged views on countering the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shared challenges of global health security, climate change, and preventing weapons proliferation.”
Further information on the exchange was provided by Wendy Wu in an article in the South China Post,
“US-China confrontation would be ‘disaster,’ Xi tells Biden in first call.”
According to the article, Xi “pushed back” at Biden’s comments, describing Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang as China’s “internal affairs,” and called for the resumption of dialogue between the countries.
“Cooperation is the only correct choice for the two nations. Cooperation can help the two nations and the world to accomplish big things, while confrontation is definitely a disaster,” Xi was quoted as saying by state-run news agency Xinhua.
“China and US will have different views on certain issues, and it is important for them to treat each other with respect and equally, and properly manage the differences in constructive manner,” he added.
On February 5, 2021, Blinken spoke by telephone with People’s Republic of China (PRC) Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi.
According to the official Dept. of State summary of his comments, “Secretary Blinken stressed the United States will continue to stand up for human rights and democratic values, including in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and pressed China to join the international community in condemning the military coup in Burma. The Secretary reaffirmed that the United States will work together with its allies and partners in defense of our shared values and interests to hold the PRC accountable for its efforts to threaten stability in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait, and its undermining of the rules-based international system.”
According to a report of the conversation in the South China Morning Post, Yang Jiechi, the Communist Party’s foreign policy chief, urged the US not to undermine China’s core interests and correct its “wrong policies.” [Citing state news agency Xinhua], Yang urged the US to work with Beijing to create a non-confrontational relationship. “China-US relations are now standing at a key moment and the Chinese government has taken a stable and consistent policy toward the United States,” Yang told Blinken. The two nations should respect each others’ core interests, Yang told Blinken, adding that the Taiwan issue is “the most important and sensitive” to China, and Washington should not interfere with China’s domestic affairs in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi tells US not to follow ‘misguided’ Trump policies
Sarah Zheng, South China Morning Post, Feb. 2, 2021
In this article, the head of the Chinese Communist Party’s foreign affairs office, Yang Jiechi, is quoted as saying the Biden administration should avoid the antagonistic stance of the Trump administration and seek accommodation with Beijing on key issues – but warns of crossing Beijing’s “red lines.” Excerpts follow.
China’s most senior foreign policy official Yang Jiechi said the US under Donald Trump had followed “misguided policies”, and called on the new administration to change course – even as comments from President Joe Biden’s advisers echo his predecessor’s tough tone on China.
“For the past few years, the Trump administration adopted misguided policies against China, plunging the relationship into its most difficult period since the establishment of diplomatic ties,” said Yang, a Politburo member regarded as President Xi Jinping’s most trusted foreign policy aide.
The US had an outdated mentality “of zero-sum, major-power rivalry” and needed to change to get the relationship back on track, Yang said.
Yang, who was speaking at a virtual event hosted by the National Committee on US-China Relations, is the highest-ranking official so far to comment on the bilateral relationship since Biden’s inauguration nearly two weeks ago. As a Politburo member, Yang outranks Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Yang said normal exchanges between China and the US needed to be restored at all levels, including through the reversal of Trump-era policies such as the labelling of Chinese media outlets in the US as foreign missions and the closure of Confucius Institutes at US universities.
“I hope the new administration will remove the stumbling blocks to people-to-people exchanges, like harassing Chinese students, restricting Chinese media outlets, shutting down Confucius Institutes and suppressing Chinese companies,” he said.
At the same time, Yang said the two countries needed to broaden cooperation on issues such as the pandemic, while managing differences on what he described as China’s “core interests”, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang.
“They constitute a red line that must not be crossed,” he said. “Any trespassing would end up undermining China-US relations and the United States’ own interests. We in China hope that the US side will fully understand the sensitivity of these issues and handle them with prudence, so as to avoid disruption or damage to mutual trust and cooperation.”
Nike Ching, VOA, January 19, 2021
President Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at his confirmation hearing on January 19 that he believed President Donald Trump was right in taking “a tougher approach” to China, even if he did not agree with all his methods.
“As we look at China, there is no doubt that it poses the most significant challenge” to U.S. national interests, Blinken said, noting there’s room for cooperation.
“There are rising adversarial aspects of the relationship; certainly, competitive ones, and still some cooperative ones, when it is in our mutual interests,” he added.
The incoming Biden administration may take confidence-building steps to reverse irritants in U.S.-China relations, including easing visa restrictions on journalists and restoring closed consulates, according to Kurt Campbell, who has been tapped as Biden’s senior coordinator for Indo-Pacific policy at the White House National Security Council.
Blinken on January 19 endorsed the assessment that the Chinese Communist Party has engaged in genocide against the Uighur Muslim population in Xinjiang. Outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the genocide determination earlier in the day.
Blinken said under the incoming Biden administration, the United States will uphold its commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to ensure that Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy, has the ability to defend itself against aggression.
Blinken added the U.S. would like to see Taiwan “play a greater role around the world” and “in international organizations” that do not require the status of a country.
The Indo-Pacific Strategy Is a Recipe for Disaster
Lyle J. Goldstein, Lawfare, Feb. 18, 2021
In this article, Lyle J. Goldstein, a research professor at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I., provides a robust critique of the Trump administration’s secret Pacific strategy, described below. Goldstein sees many flaws in the Trumpian strategy, notably its reliance on ties with local powers that do not necessarily share America’s values and may not prove reliable in a crisis. His main complaints, however, focus on Taiwan and the proposed U.S. military alliance with India…
“[Taiwan] has befuddled American strategists for decades and their clever solution has been ‘strategic ambiguity,’ balancing a general acceptance of China’s claim with a subtle hint of deterrence in the hope that the complex issue could be settled peacefully. The newly declassified strategy overtly codifies the deterrence aspect without even the slightest nod to Chinese claims – something acknowledged by American presidents going back to Franklin Roosevelt. Discarding strategic ambiguity, as the Trump administration seemingly did in its last year in office, has put Washington and Beijing on a direct course for war. Some Americans seem to welcome that possibility, but they are not well informed about the military balance and likely scenarios. The truth is that the United States could very well lose such a war, a fact admitted in early 2021 by a senior Air Force official, and there is no telling whether nuclear weapons would be employed or not.
Regarding India: While its military is improving, to be sure, there are still many reasons to doubt New Delhi can wield genuinely formidable military forces…. The prospect of the Indian Navy sailing to the rescue in the South China Sea seems dubious, at best. A troubling strategic paradox, however, is that even if New Delhi can succeed in threatening China’s vulnerable energy “life-line” across the Indian Ocean, the reality of that threat currently seems to be at least partially fueling Beijing’s rapid naval buildup. By playing to Beijing’s worst fears regarding the so-called “Malacca Dilemma” – a potential blockade of the vast oil supplies heading to China through that narrow strait – planners in Washington and New Delhi are triggering a security dilemma for Beijing, causing it to take robust countermeasures. In other words, Sino-Indian rivalry is not necessarily in the U.S. strategic interest.
China Offers to Work with Biden, But Warns of a New ‘McCarthyism’
Japan Times, Dec. 19, 2020
In this article, the Japan Times reports on a virtual address given before the Asia Society by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on prospects for U.S.-China relations under the Biden administration.
Taking aim at the hawkish approach of President Donald Trump, Foreign Minister Wang Yi voiced hope for a return of talks and “mutual trust” between the world’s two largest economic powers after Biden takes over on Jan. 20. “It is important that U.S. policy toward China return to objectivity and sensibility as early as possible,” Wang said.
Wang said that China saw “space for cooperation” with Biden on three of the four issues he has identified as immediate priorities — COVID-19, economic recovery, and climate change. Biden’s fourth stated priority is racial equity.
On the pandemic, Wang said Beijing and Washington could collaborate in manufacturing vaccines and assisting third countries. “We hope that we will expand cooperation and manage differences through dialogue,” Wang said.
Referring to efforts by the Trump administration to shutter Chinese-funded exchange programs for Americans and tightened visa rules for Chinese students as well as members of the Communist Party and their families, Wang spoke of a new “McCarthyism” stalking the United States.
“We see McCarthyism resurging and jeopardizing normal international exchanges,” Wang said, referring to the witch hunt for communists purported to be in the U.S. government led by Republican Sen. Joe McCarthy.
Wang accused unnamed senior U.S. officials of “irresponsible presumption of guilt and emotional lashing-out.” “They ignore the vast common interests and room for cooperation between the two countries and insist that China is a main threat,” Wang said. “This is like misaligning the buttons on clothing. They get things wrong at the very beginning.”
Beijing’s Blunt Message to President-elect Joe Biden
Willy Wo-Lap Lam, China Brief, Jamestown Foundation, Dec. 10, 2020
In the article below, Dr. Willy Wo-Lap Lam, a Senior Fellow at The Jamestown Foundation and an Adjunct Professor at the Center for China Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, summarizes recent Chinese comments on how Beijing views U.S.-China relations in a Biden administration. For the full text of the article, go the original by clicking on the title, above.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has sent a polite but blunt message to the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joseph R. Biden, urging the resumption of high-level ties while at the same time showing off China’s military and economic might. In his belated congratulatory message to President-elect Biden, PRC President Xi Jinping, said that it was in the common interest to “promote [the] healthy and stable development” of bilateral relations. “We hope both countries [will] uphold the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation,” Xi added (Xinhua, November 25). The nationalistic party tabloid Global Times said with cautious optimism that a Biden presidency might “bring changes to deteriorating bilateral relations that have been trapped in a vicious circle under the Trump administration” (Global Times, November 8).
China Prepares for an “Encirclement Strategy”
President-elect Biden has reiterated that a major difference between his and Trump’s China policy will be that under his leadership, Washington would work closely with American allies and friends to form a kind of encirclement strategy aimed at countering China. “We need to be aligned with the other democracies… so that we can set the rules of the road instead of having China and others dictate outcomes because they are the only game in town,” Biden said following the projected announcement of his electoral victory (Nikkei Asia, November 17; Channel News Asia, November 17).
For example, in addition to formulating a common China policy with the EU and NATO, there are expectations that Washington might beef up the Quad, a quasi-alliance between the U.S., India, Japan and Australia (see China Brief, October 30). But Beijing is also putting together a “counter-containment” policy. China under Xi’s leadership has scored some recent successes in ensuring that Beijing will be able to rally a certain degree of support on economic issues within the Asia-Pacific region. In November, China signed the historic Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement with the ten ASEAN member states as well as Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Xi also indicated a recent willingness to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP) during his televised address to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference on November 20. “We must continue to promote regional economic integration and strive to establish an Asia-Pacific free-trade zone at an early date,” he said, adding that unilateralism exacerbated risks for the global economy (PRC Foreign Ministry, November 21). Formerly known as the Transpacific Partnership (TPP), the CPTPP’s current signatories include Canada, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
If China succeeds in joining the CPTPP, it would underscore the U.S.’s exclusion from yet another international trading agreement as well as the ongoing decline of its regional presence. But despite Xi’s offer to join the CPTPP, the reality remains that key requirements for CPTPP membership include a higher degree of marketization and protection of intellectual property rights than current standards in the Chinese economy (Caixin, November 21; Global Times, November 21).
Conclusion
According to Fudan University international affairs expert Wu Xinbo, the ascendency of Biden implies to some extent “the U.S. returning to the establishment line [of thinking].” “Yet due to the domestic situation, the U.S will henceforward become more conservative. There is no way that the country will return to the era of liberalism under [former presidents] Clinton and Obama,” Wu said (Sina Finance, November 11).
Indeed, four years of Trump’s confrontational stance toward the CCP have brought about a bipartisan consensus about the need to contain China; a view that is also widely shared by politicians, academics, journalists and opinion leaders. Trump’s policies about halting the technological, military and geopolitical advance of China – as well as his related domestic drives to stop Chinese influence from further infiltrating the U.S. – are supported by the majority of members of Congress. And according to the Pew Research Institute, 73 percent of Americans harbor negative feelings about the PRC (Pew Research Center, October 6). Under these conditions, Chinese cadres and observers seem correct in their thinking that even if he were interested in mending fences with China, Biden’s presidency is bound to follow the path of containment, albeit with tactics different from those of the Trump administration.