Opinion | The folly of Biden's knee-jerk China Policy: Yellen to host Chinese vice premier for talks in San Francisco, but…
By Augustus K. Yeung
President Joe Biden is behaving as if he can stop rival Donald J. Trump – before the next presidential election, and so he can afford to adopt his knee-jerk policy of dealing with China, when Beijing expects to establish a bilateral stable and yet commercially competitive policy with Washington.
From things that are going, Biden's days are numbered: Challenged by Trump – who is edging closer at the opinion polls, looking as if the incumbent president can be replaced by the challenger – who is not satisfied with occupying the White House, but now promises the end of Biden and his family, especially son Hunter Biden.
This is a family feud for the U.S. president – whose future looks grim.
In relations with China, Joe Biden is still working and walking in the shadow of Donald J. Trump, whose policy is anti-China is dictating the present U.S. foreign policy. But Beijing is not satisfied; it expects to establish relations with the United States – and keeps it with modifications just enough to keep the world safe, stable with America at the helm.
Washington may not say it's pursuing the fallacy of foolish "China threats", but Blinken's visiting Japan and Korea after the Middle East shows a discrepancy, and China may lose confidence in the US.
The following excerpt shows that Biden is right to have picked Janet Yellen as the one high-level official to pacify China, which trust Yellen for her professionalism, pragmatism and personal integrity.
Can U.S. single-handedly resolve the conflict? U.S. history says it all; it'll be hoping against hope!
Janet Yellen, the U.S. Secretary, will host Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng for two days of talks this week, the latest in a series of high-level talks between U.S. and Chinese officials as the world's two largest economies aim to ease tensions, her Treasury Department announced yesterday.
The Yellen-He talks set for Thursday and Friday came ahead of the start of the APEC summit in San Fransisco which starts November 11. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet in the summit – their first engagement in nearly a year.
"As a foundation, our two nations have an obligation to establish resilient lines of open communication and to prevent our disagreements from spiraling into conflict," Yellen wrote in a Washington Post op-ed to spotlight the upcoming meeting. "But we also know that our relationship cannot be circumscribed to crisis management."
The meeting between the two senior government officials comes after Biden spoke with Chinese FM Wang Yi at the White House for about an hour last month, when Beijing's top diplomat came to Washington for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Sullivan, President Xi similarly met with Blinken in June when he travelled to Beijing for talks with Wang.
Yellen las met with her counterpart He during a July visit to Beijing, when she urged Chinese government officials for cooperation – on climate change and other global challenges – and not to let sharp disagreements about trade and other irritants derail relations.
China's Foreign Ministry said that He, who is the government's lead person on U.S. China economic and trade issues, would visit the U.S. November 8-12.
Yellen is expected to amplify the message on climate during her talks with He in San Francisco. Treasury in a statement said that Yellen will also underscore that the Biden administration "will take targeted action to advance our national security and that of our allies and protect human rights, but we do not use these tools to seek economic advantages."
Tensions between the two countries remain high, including over U.S. export controls on advanced technology. The Biden administration has also taken Beijing to task for economic practices that it says have put U.S. companies and workers at a disadvantage.
The U.S. has also criticized China's lending practices under its $1 trillion Belt and Road Initiative, a network of projects and maritime lanes that snake around large portions of the world, primarily Asia and Africa. Critics, including the Biden administration, say China's projects often create massive debt and expose nations to undue influence by Beijing.
Yellen in her op-ed wrote she would raise during the meetings the administration's "serious concerns with Beijing's unfair economic practices, including its large-scale use of non-market tools, its barriers to market access and its coercive actions against U.S. firms in China.
The U.S. has also repeatedly raised concerns about China's assertive actions in the East and South China Seas.
The U.S. also has renewed a warning that it would defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack under a security pact, after Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Philippine vessels off a contested shoal in the South China Sea.
Beijing has released its own video of close encounters in the region – including what it describes as footage of the USS Ralph Johnson – making a sharp turn and crossing in front of the bow of a Chinese naval ship. The U.S. destroyer also was captured sailing between two Chinese ships. (Source: MDT/AP)
Given Yellen's long weekend shopping list, no country in the world would be able to deal with – and have faith in the United States –if President Biden continues to keep China at arm's length. The ways things are going, the future looks grim for both the Biden administration and the Xi Jinping regime, which is pinning its hopes on this government to keep trades, commerce, military communications going.
But, if Trump makes a successful comeback, both Joe Biden and Xi Jinping will not have good days ahead of them.
Their common challenge is not just Trump, but his team and his totem pole – with its weird cult-like philosophy, calcified anti-communist ideology and unfathomable lunacy, these two will be fighting an uphill battle.
Any advice for the presidents? Sincere cooperation – now, or never!
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
To contact the writer, please direct email: AugustusKYeung@ymail.com
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