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US-China relations
OpinionComment
Chen Gong
Chen Gong

Opinion | Why US-China relations will only get worse, no matter who is in the White House

  • Hopes that the US-China relationship will improve ignore the many underlying factors driving the two sides apart
  • Domestic politics, slowing economic growth and increasing nationalism are not conducive to normalising relations and will only further erode ties

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US President Joe Biden meets President Xi Jinping during a virtual summit from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on November 15, 2021. Photo: AFP
Chen Gong
There are many who still cling to an illusion about the future prospects of US-China relations. They believe that, with some positive factors, both countries could get back to harmonious relations.

This group includes many entrepreneurs and people with a long history of cooperation with China. There are those who have academic or technological partnerships, as well as those with financial investment relationships.

There are also many from one country with family ties to the other through marriages and children. All these people look forward to the normalisation – or rather the “re-normalisation” – of US-China relations.

“Normalisation” of US-China relations was once a buzzword, before China’s reform and opening up. In 1972, US president Richard Nixon visited Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai, met Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai and signed the Shanghai Communique.

In the communique, both countries pledged to pursue full normalisation of diplomatic relations. This was achieved after relations had been frozen for 23 years. So it is understandable that many wish to see relations normalised again. The question is whether this is possible.

The answer is simple. If the relationship cannot get back to normal under the administration of US President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party, then it will not happen in the future. There are two reasons for this.

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