As Biden takes office, US still viewed as ‘grey rhino’ risk for Chinese economy
- Chinese economists see ‘negative energy’ and continued US pressure under President Joe Biden, who was sworn in on Wednesday
- Biden expected to adopt a less antagonistic tone, but his policies may not differ hugely from the Trump administration in the short term
The outlook for China-US trade ties under a Joe Biden presidency has been met with mixed views by Chinese economists, with some saying the United States remains the nation’s biggest “grey rhino” – a very obvious yet ignored threat – in terms of economic risk this year.
“It is quite safe to say that in the past two years, no one has won the trade war. China may have suffered heavily, but the price the US has paid was also very high,” said Yu Yongding, a prominent Chinese economist and former central bank adviser.
China’s trade surplus with the US rose to US$316.91 billion in 2020 from US$295.77 billion in 2019, despite China’s purchasing commitments in the phase one trade deal and heavy tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese goods.
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Joe Biden becomes 46th US president in scaled-down, socially-distanced inauguration
The 2020 figure represents a 14.9 per cent jump from a US$275.8 billion surplus in 2017, when Trump took office claiming that China’s trade practices were unfair and cost Americans jobs.
