The US and China are nowhere near ending their everlasting tussle, which primarily started in Trump’s era in the form of a trade war.
The problem is even intensifying considering the recent skirmish between the top officials of both countries in Alaska.
Experts believe that it could be a start of a new cold war between the top two powers of the world.
While the United States’ concerns remain varied, including the Chinese human rights behaviors, the domestic intervention of China in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the expansionist ambitions of China in the South China Sea and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the primary concern remains the trade war, for which the US has often accused China of using unfair practices.
What is the latest status of the US-China trade war, and what does the Biden administration have to offer to the world to soften its relations to this all-important Asian country? Let’s see.
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US-China Trade War: Nowhere Near Its End:
The Trump administration sanctioned China on various matters, mostly related to its trade practices. While doing so, he increased the tariffs on Chinese products into the United States in his bid to “save” the local markets and American jobs.
However, Biden’s approach to China was perceived as typical by many, with the relations coming back to normal. But Biden is reluctant to initiate the normalization process so far. The only thing in favor of China right now is that Biden is not imposing new restrictions each day like his predecessor, Donald Trump.
In fact, despite a stoppage of new sanctions, the relations between the global powers seem to have deteriorated further.
The bumpy start of the Biden administration with China can be deduced easily from the first high-profile meeting of both countries.
Amid the tense meetings, both countries’ officials tried their best to blame each other for the persisting evils across the globe.
As Biden warned that China “would eat our lunch,” referring to the unfair trade practices, Chinese officials left no stone unturned criticizing the US for championing cybercrimes and the flawed democracy designs.
All of this worsened the matter as the meeting that was supposed to heal the relations further dented them.
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Republicans Attempt to go Harsh on China Once Again
Meanwhile, while all of this was happening in Alaska, Republicans have introduced legislation in Congress to “safeguard” American interest in the US-China trade war.
According to the proposed legislation, the Normal Trading Status of Washington with Beijing will be revoked. If passed, the US-China trade relations would be tenser, which can further provoke China to take countermeasures.
It would be too early to say whether or not Democrats would support any such legislation, but seeing the previous patterns, Democrats are less likely to support any proposal.
This is due to the fact that despite the recent skirmish between the US and China, the countries are likely to indulge in talks again soon, and passing any such legislation would portray the notion of the US’s approach of leaving the talks and taking legislative actions.
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US-China Trade War: A Way to Global Crisis
There is no denial of the fact that China has often used unfair means to have the upper hand in trade. This includes Chinese plans of technology theft that pull the jobs away from the US markets. This is why the US remains critical of Chinese cyberattacks.
However, an all-out trade war is in favor of no one. As a matter of fact, China has the world’s largest manufacturing economy, and if restrictions are imposed on such a huge market, there are consequences far beyond Chinese borders.
For instance, China is just an endpoint of a massive supply chain, and trade sanctions would disrupt the whole supply chain, affecting all the countries in that chain.
The same is the case with the US, where increased trade tariffs can disrupt the economies of the countries involved in the US supply chain. This way, the whole world has to bear the consequences of the war between the two global giants.
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Final Thoughts
The Biden administration should continue pushing China for fair trade practices, keeping in mind that an all-out trade war is never an option.
Only then can the big markets be saved globally and employment opportunities created.
Similarly, the US and China should also try to cooperate on matters of common interests. For instance, being the two largest economies, the US and China emit 42% of the global carbon dioxide, which is a sign of worry for the climate advocates across the globe.
Both countries should try to counter the menace of climate change and find other common grounds of cooperation so that the tensions can be eased to some extent.
Video Summary:
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.