Editorial | Pragmatist Joe Biden points way forward in China relations
- New US president maps out his strategy towards ‘most serious competitor’ Beijing and, despite some hard-hitting comments, he shows greater understanding than his predecessor
United States President Joe Biden has swept away the foreign policy uncertainties of his predecessor, Donald Trump, making clear China is his country’s “most serious competitor” and pinpointing where conflict lies.
Mapping out his administration’s strategy in a speech at the State Department, he said that to fend off perceived challenges to America’s prosperity, security and democratic values, he would confront Beijing’s “economic abuses; counter its aggressive, coercive, action; [and] push back on China’s attack on human rights, intellectual property, and global governance”.
That would seem to indicate little change to existing approaches, but the new leader also set a pragmatic tone, speaking of diplomacy and willingness to cooperate when necessary. That offers hope for better ties; coming together to find a solution to matters of shared interest will open the way to dealing with complex issues that seem insurmountable.
China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, earlier this week laid out the ground rules for what Biden would need to do to improve relations. A Politburo member and President Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy adviser, he told a virtual event hosted by the National Committee on US-China Relations that Washington had an outdated mentality “of zero-sum, major power rivalry” and normal exchanges at all levels needed to be restored.
It was the first time a senior Chinese official had directly spoken to the American elite since Biden’s inauguration. Broad cooperation on issues such as climate change, the pandemic and global economic recovery could take place, while managing differences on matters of core interest on which lines could never be crossed, among them Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.