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US presidential election 2020
ChinaDiplomacy

Beijing watches for Joe Biden’s cabinet picks, signs of direction on China

  • Governing team expected to include both hawks and those who prefer engagement, according to analysts
  • Biden has sent mixed signals on his approach to the ‘special challenge’ of China

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Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, pictured during 2011 talks in Beijing when they were both vice-presidents. Biden has called Xi a “thug”. Photo: Reuters
Catherine Wong
Beijing will keep a close watch as US president-elect Joe Biden fills positions in his cabinet, which is expected to be a mix of hawks and those who prefer engagement with China, according to analysts.

That mix would be needed for Biden to get the support of both Democrats and Republicans for Senate approval of the posts, they said.

As Biden forms his governing team in the coming days, the coronavirus pandemic and the economy will be priorities. But his approach to China will be a key foreign policy area, and analysts said Beijing would be looking to get relations onto a better footing with the new administration.

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Democrat Biden sent mixed signals on China during his campaign, including saying in May 2019 that it was “not a competition for us” – dismissing the notion that the US should be concerned about China as a geopolitical rival. That prompted pushback from both parties, which said Biden was underestimating the world’s second-largest economy.

But he has also signalled that he intends to be tough on China, calling President Xi Jinping a “thug” and indicating that he would call out Beijing’s repressive policies against the Uygur ethnic minority in Xinjiang.

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China waits to congratulate Joe Biden on US election win

China waits to congratulate Joe Biden on US election win
While tensions between the two superpowers are expected to continue, Chinese analysts said Biden’s picks for influential government positions would be closely monitored in China for any indication of the direction his administration will take.
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