Could US-China ties actually improve if Joe Biden is re-elected?
- Both sides of politics ‘seem to agree on getting tougher on China’, analysts say
- But if Biden wins, he could try to seek a ‘breakthrough’ in the troubled relationship
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Joe Biden announces bid for second 4-year term as US President
While the first primaries are still months away, the 2024 election is expected to unfold at a time of deepening political polarisation in the United States, and when there is bipartisan consensus on taking a tougher stand on China.
Key issues such as inflation, abortion rights and social security are likely to dominate the concerns of American voters. But analysts say that as the race intensifies, the candidates may try to gain ground by claiming to be the strongest on China, which the Pentagon has called the top challenge to US national security interests.
“In the logic of US politics, the presidential election is primarily a matter of domestic politics and does not have much impact on its relations with China,” said Wang Yong, an international relations professor at Peking University.
“But given the heightened tensions between the two powers, both Democrats and Republicans – amid their own vigorous competition – seem to agree on getting tougher on China,” Wang said. “This is a spillover from domestic politics and it will have a negative impact on Sino-US relations.”