Trump’s isolationist policies in the foreign policy arena resulted in him not collaborating with China in any domain.
While Biden promised to bandwagon the rest of the world, especially China, immediately after coming to power, his actions seem to suggest otherwise.
Although Biden rejoined the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Climate Accord immediately after taking up the presidency, he has yet to take any decision on Trump’s policies against China.
Being the second-largest global economy, China has a voice in the world, and good relations with China can yield positive results for the US.
Biden has even signaled to be critical of China about the Uighur human rights violations and unfair trade practices. If Biden pursues these avenues, he can further mess up the relations, as China is unlikely to collaborate in the climate change politics this way.
Joe Biden: Yet to Reverse a Single Decision of Trump against China
Joe Biden was vocal about mending the relations with China in the pre-election times. However, he has not revoked any of Trump’s decisions against the country yet.
It was also expected that Biden would start working with China right after taking the Oval Office. For this very purpose, Trump even called him soft on China and criticized both Joe Biden and China, even in the times when a pandemic originating there has strangled the world.
Joe Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken have already reaffirmed Donald Trump’s policies about China.
Biden has even labeled the Chinese genocide of Uighur Muslims as “different norms,” a move that raised eyebrows of human rights watchdogs.
The state department has already criticized China for the Uighur genocide of Muslims and other minorities in different regions.
If Biden becomes soft on China for its malpractice on minorities, he can lose the support of the liberal faction and human rights activists in the United States itself.
Not only this, but the progressive faction of the Democratic party will also try to hinder the foreign policies legislation in Congress just like in the case of Abraham Accords, as they have often championed human rights.
Donald Trump‘s concerns about China’s unfair trade practices were not hidden from anyone. Biden seems to extend these concerns. The office of the US Trade Representative has already said that the Biden administration will use “all the available tools” to counteract China’s unfair trade practices.
Janet Yellen has also addressed this issue of unfair trade practices. The US Secretary of the Treasury has called China’s practices “abusive, unfair, and illegal practices.”
These comments clearly indicate Biden’s policy measures towards China.
It means that the US under Biden is unlikely to reverse all the restrictions on the trade practices that were imposed by Donald Trump.
China’s Denial to Contribute to Healing Global Climate
Amid all of this skirmish, remaining optimistic on China’s cooperation on Climate Change is a pipe dream.
China is the largest contributor of carbon dioxide in the world at the moment, followed by the USA. Both of these top-two global economies contribute almost 42% of the worldwide carbon dioxide emissions in the environment.
The situation worsens amid the lack of trust between both these countries. The only thing that is improved between US-Sino relations during Biden’s presidency until now is the stoppage of further restrictions on China, which was Donald Trump’s routine.
China has a history of retaliating against the sanctions, and all of these sanctions will only make the matter worse.
Climate change remains among the top agenda items of Biden since his presidential inauguration. His administration’s support of the Green New Deal and rejoining the Paris Climate Accord speaks volumes about this.
If Biden pursues cutting carbon emissions in the United States and China bars doing the same, it will shift many markets and jobs to China. This will ultimately impact the economy of the United States.
Final Thoughts
If the business goes as usual, Biden will have no choice other than to follow Trump’s path of boycotting China in every possible avenue.
Not only this, but Biden will also need to keep a close eye on China’s intellectual property breaches. Joe Biden was extremely vocal about China’s cybertheft during his vice presidency under Obama’s era.
If China continues intellectual theft, Biden will not have any option other than imposing severe restrictions on them.
No doubt Biden may perceive the world from the liberalist agenda of international politics, but the pursuit of realism from China will soon open Biden’s eyes.
In this regard, Biden will have to make a fair balance between restrictions on China regarding the tackling of their minorities, unfair trade practices, and the advantages that the world can get under better climate change policies.
Eli is a Political Data Scientist with over thirty years of experience in Data Engineering, Analytics, and Digital Marketing. Eli uses his expertise to give the latest information and distinctive analysis on US Political News, US Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, and Racial Justice equipping readers with the inequivalent knowledge.