US president-elect Joe Biden might take a more “sophisticated” approach to dealing with China than his predecessor, Donald Trump, but Beijing should not expect an easy ride in the years ahead, a Chinese academic has said. “Biden’s diplomatic strategy will be largely different from Trump, but that does not mean China-US relations will improve,” Yan Xuetong, dean of Tsinghua University’s Institute of Modern International Relations in Beijing, said in an interview with Chinese media group Caixin. China-US tensions keep PLA sailors at sea for an extra four months in 2020 The new president’s policy goal was “the same as Trump’s … to prevent China from narrowing the power gap with the United States”, he said. “Biden will adopt a more sophisticated strategy than Trump, which may cause greater international difficulties for China,” Yan said. For example, rather than trying to rein in Chinese technology firms by preventing them from buying American components or adding them to a sanctions list, as Trump had done, Biden would weigh up whether such a move was good or bad for the US, he said. “If it causes more harm to the US, it is not wise to implement the policy. Therefore, after Biden takes office, there may be a selective decoupling [of the two countries] … with the US making its choices on the basis of whether they are beneficial to the country.” The relationship between China and US has been badly damaged in recent years, with the two sides clashing on a host of issues, from technology and trade to Hong Kong , Xinjiang and the South China Sea . Yan said it was important for both the US and China to acknowledge their rivalry. “If you do not recognise that competition is the core of Sino-US relations and just talk about cooperation, the result will become empty talk, and ultimately no cooperation can be achieved,” he said. “The nature of the Sino-US relationship has changed,” he said. “If the relationship is not discussed from a competitive perspective, the problems cannot be solved”. Biden may also seek to take advantage of the damage caused to China-US ties by Trump. “Even if Biden wants to improve Sino-US relations, he will use the damage Trump is now creating as a bargaining chip,” he said. “Let’s say the Trump administration announces sanctions against the 14 vice-chairmen of the NPC Standing Committee. Biden may use the lifting of such sanctions as a bargaining chip.” US bill banning Xinjiang imports over forced labour concerns fails to become law The new president might also seek to increase the political pressure on Beijing in areas of conflict like Hong Kong and Xinjiang, Yan said. “Intensifying confrontation with China on human rights issues might help him guard against further domestic political divisions in the United States,” he said. Biden is also expected to try and consolidate ties with America’s traditional allies, which could create more problems for China, the academic said. “It is much easier to deal with Trump’s unilateralism than with Biden’s multilateralism,” he said. “The Trump era is the best time for China to improve strategic relations with America’s allies. If we can’t improve relations under such conditions, it will be even more difficult … when Biden comes to power.”