Joe Biden 100 days in: little difference from Trump in attitude towards China, analysts say

But analysts see Biden narrowing the scope of restrictions in order to avoid a full decoupling with Beijing

Biden’s presidency will pass the 100-day mark on Friday, a symbolic milestone against which administrations are often assessed

Reading Time:6 minutes

US President Joe Biden speaks at the White House in Washington on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 5:43am, 28 Apr 2021Updated: 8:36am, 28 Apr 2021

Joe Biden’s China strategy nearly 100 days into his tenure differs little from the administration of his predecessor, who erected multiple economic barriers and portrayed Beijing as a human rights pariah, amid bipartisan consensus that the country is a threat.

But analysts also see Biden narrowing the scope of these restrictions in the next 100 days and beyond in order to avoid a full decoupling with Beijing, moves that will likely add fuel to an already combative relationship with Congress’s most vocal China critics.

Biden’s presidency will pass the 100-day mark on Friday, a symbolic milestone against which administrations are often assessed, both in terms of their adherence to campaign promises and what it signals about the remaining 45 months in office.

On China, the past three months have seen the Biden administration sanction Chinese officials over human rights abuses in Xinjiang and the erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong; uphold a determination that the treatment of Uygurs in Xinjiang constitutes “genocide”; roll out new guidelines for increased engagement with Taiwanese officials; and carry out naval drills in the South China Sea.

On the legislative front, the administration has also thrown its support behind a bipartisan bill that would allocate US$112 billion for research in technology considered critical in the deepening competition between the US and China.

When it came to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s blueprint to engage with China along three lines – confrontation, competition, and cooperation – the administration’s first 100 days had skewed toward confrontation with elements of competition, according to David Dollar, a former US Treasury emissary to China.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x