Joe Biden should repair US alliances before meeting with Xi Jinping, China analysts say
- The new US administration must restore America’s reputation globally, one panellist at China Conference says
- But China has also contributed to worsening ties, another panellist says, by ‘overreaching and overstepping’ around the world
US President-elect Joe Biden should avoid any summit meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping until Beijing tones down its behaviour and Washington repairs its own alliances first, a group of China experts in the US warned on Tuesday.
Speaking at the annual China conference, organised by the South China Morning Post and held virtually this year, long-time China watchers said that while the two countries might not fully cut ties with each other after Biden takes office next month, they seem almost certain to be headed toward a more serious competition.
I believe the United States should not engage in summitry very early with China, in part because the Chinese view the United States as weak and in decline
The analysts cited China’s trade violations, its subsidies to corporate national champions, its refusal to consider criticism and its provocative actions around the world as impediments to the kind of environment that would accommodate high-level meetings.
“I believe the United States should not engage in summitry very early with China, in part because the Chinese view the United States as weak and in decline,” said Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
“We have to first fix our own country, reinvigorate our alliances and restore our reputation.”
Biden, who will be taking office next month, has emphasised the importance of America’s military alliances during the transition period, but he is also expected to be more open to negotiation with Beijing even if anti-China sentiment in both US political parties prevents him from reversing the aggressive posture that US President Donald Trump has taken.
