The White House says the Biden administration is seeking a “new approach” to dealing with Beijing with “strategic patience. How will this “new approach” differ from the Trump administration’s China Policy? What will be the Biden Administration‘s decision on whether to stay or go with the series of measures imposed on China under Trump, and whether to change or stay the same? The Voice of America takes a look at five areas: economic and trade, science and technology, human rights, and Taiwan issues.
Tariffs and Trade
In the Trump era, the United States sees China as a strategic competitor and takes a tough stance against it. In the area of economic and trade, a trade war has been waged with China to punish China for unfair trade practices and to impose restrictions on some investment activities between the two countries.
Key policies include
Imposing tariffs on more than $360 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Signing the first phase of the U.S.-China trade agreement. The latest trade data shows that China has failed to meet the purchase targets promised in the agreement.
Establishing an investment blacklist that identifies more than 40 Chinese companies as having ties to the Chinese military, prohibiting U.S. institutions and individuals from investing in the securities of those companies by executive order and requiring divestiture of related investments by Nov. 11 of this year.
White House spokeswoman Sachs said President Biden will take a multilateralist approach to dealing with China, including evaluating tariffs on China, as well as a range of issues involving regulation and issues related to Chinese investments.
-Cooper: Biden Won’t Immediately Lift Tariffs
Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the U.S. think tank Enterprise Institute, said Biden will likely use other economic and financial tools to address China’s unfair trade practices, but tariffs will not be lifted anytime soon. He said, “In fact, it could be argued that Biden may be better off keeping most of the tariffs in the short term, which could be used to exert influence on Beijing to ensure that it fulfills the commitments made in the first phase of the agreement or to push Beijing to the negotiating table to reach a new, more realistic and enforceable agreement.”
Technology and Security
In addition to tariffs and investment restrictions, the Trump Administration has pursued a multi-pronged technology policy of blocking Chinese technology companies. Key measures include.
Blocking huawei‘s global presence in 5G network construction through domestic bans and international mediation.
Expanding export controls by placing hundreds of Chinese companies and entities, including Huawei, on a list of entities on national security grounds, restricting their access to U.S. technology and components such as chips.
Issued banning orders against Chinese social media apps TikTok and WeChat. However, the ban was called off by a U.S. court, and related litigation continues.
The sale of TikTok is still under negotiation.
Issued an executive order prohibiting individuals and entities under U.S. jurisdiction from engaging in transactions with the developers and controllers of eight Chinese apps, including Alipay and WeChat Pay, after Feb. 19.
Launching “Operation Clean Sweep” to expand blocking of Chinese companies at seven levels, including communications operations, cloud storage, apps and communications cables, and convincing allies to join the initiative.
The Biden administration has said that technology is at the heart of the U.S.-China competition and that it will ensure that U.S. technology is not used by China for “malicious activities” and that Americans’ data is not misappropriated or misused. It is unclear whether the Biden administration will continue these actions by the Trump administration. White House spokeswoman Sharkey said the U.S. needs a comprehensive strategy and a more systematic approach to address all of these issues.
Analysts believe the Biden administration is unlikely to ease restrictions in areas involving national security, but may liberalize some restrictions on companies that don’t have much evidence of involvement in malicious behavior such as stealing intellectual property or evading sanctions.
-Cooper: Huawei, ZTE bans won’t change
I wouldn’t be shocked if the executive order against Alibaba and other Chinese payment applications, for example, was revoked,” said Cooper of the Enterprise Institute. But it’s inconceivable that the U.S. would open the door to companies like Huawei or ZTE that have tried to avoid sanctions in the past.”
-Carlson: TikTok, WeChat bans may be lifted
Professor Allen Carlson, director of Cornell University’s China and Asia-Pacific Studies Program, believes the initial bans on TikTok and WeChat were themselves more like smoke and mirrors, and it’s not surprising that the Biden administration lifted restrictions on them.
-Chengbin: “Clean Web” Will Remain, But May Change Name
Dean Cheng, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, thinks the Clean Web Initiative will be retained, but may be renamed to become “more Bidenian. He said, “The fundamental idea of the initiative is to have a very reliable network that is not subject to outside interference, and I think that’s something that the Biden administration is likely to maintain.”
Humanities Exchange
In the area of Education and human exchanges, the Trump administration has taken several actions to guard against the infiltration and malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party on American society. Key measures include.
Designating 15 Chinese media organizations and Confucius Institutes, including Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television, as foreign missions and restricting Department of Defense funding to U.S. colleges and universities with Confucius Institutes.
Restricting travel to the United States by members of the Chinese Communist Party and their immediate Family members, and prohibiting entry into the United States by Communist Party officials or persons involved in Communist Party United Front activities.
Strengthened the review of visa applications for Chinese students pursuing studies in fields defined as sensitive, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, blacklisted more than a dozen Chinese colleges and universities with ties to the Chinese military, and cancelled the visas of more than 3,000 Chinese students.
Closed the Chinese consulate in Houston, saying the consulate’s diplomats assisted in espionage activities.
-Cooper: Biden May Ease Chinese Student Visa Restrictions
Cooper of the Enterprise Institute said that increasing people-to-people contacts between the U.S. and China and allowing Chinese students to study in the U.S. would be beneficial to the United States. He believes the Biden administration may loosen some visa restrictions to manage risk through a more targeted approach.
-Chengbin: Biden Will Continue to Restrict Confucius Institutes
The Biden administration will not ease restrictions on Confucius Institutes, said the Heritage Foundation’s Bing Cheng. He said, “There is a very broad consensus among some in Congress, both Democratic and Republican, and in the administration, that the Confucius Institute is too much and does pose a threat to freedom of thought, scientific research and scholarship.”
-Cooper: The Houston Consulate Won’t Be Coming Back
As for whether the Chinese consulate in Houston will reopen, Chengbin believes it depends on whether China will let the U.S. reopen its consulate in Chengdu. But Cooper believes that the wood has been laid to rest and both countries have adjusted accordingly, and the odds are that the Biden administration will not reconsider the decision.
Human Rights Policy
In the area of human rights, President Trump signed into effect the Hong Kong Democracy and Human Rights Act, the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, the Uighur Human Rights Policy Act, the Tibet Travel Reciprocity Act, and the Tibet Policy and Support Act, and his administration has imposed extremely severe sanctions on the Chinese government for human rights violations, including, inter alia
Numerous actions in response to China’s introduction of the Hong Kong National Security Law, including ending the special treatment granted to Hong Kong on trade and sanctioning 35 Hong Kong and Chinese officials, including Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
Sanctions against Chinese officials suspected of serious human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and the inclusion of Chinese companies and entities involved in human rights abuses on a trade blacklist.
Banned all cotton and tomato products produced by companies and entities in Xinjiang from entering the United States.
Find the Chinese government guilty of genocide and Crimes Against Humanity in Xinjiang.
All three experts interviewed believe that the Biden administration will not change Trump-era policies on human rights issues such as Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
-Cooper: Biden Stands Firm on Human Rights Issues
I think the Biden team is very firm on human rights issues, probably even more so than the Trump team,” said Cooper of the Enterprise Institute. …… I would expect the Biden administration to have both some strong language on human rights and democracy issues and to continue to take action against the perpetrators of human rights suppression and violations.”
-Carlson: High Consensus on Human Rights in Washington
Cornell University’s Carlson said human rights is a rare topic on which there is a high degree of consensus in a deeply divided Washington, “and in that respect, I think that the policies in question will continue. The question is how effective these tough policies can be in improving the human rights situation in those places.”
-Chengbin: Human rights will be a bargaining chip
The Trump administration’s finding that China committed genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang in the final days of the administration actually presented a favorable opportunity for the Biden administration, according to the Heritage Foundation’s Cheng Bin. This result is not something that can be easily ignored,” he said. I think the Biden administration can benefit from this by going and negotiating with China and telling them that if they want to reverse this determination, then they have to show progress.”
The Taiwan Issue
President Trump began his presidency by breaking diplomatic protocol with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, signing into effect the Taiwan Travel Act, the Taiwan Friends International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act and the Taiwan Reassurance Act during his presidency, and introducing several measures to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan relations, including
Visits to Taiwan by a number of Cabinet officials, lifting self-imposed restrictions on U.S.-Taiwan official contacts.
Approval of several major arms sales to Taiwan, including advanced offensive weapons systems.
The establishment of the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue and the launch of the U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative.
-Cooper: Most policies toward Taiwan will continue
The Enterprise Institute’s Cooper believes that most of the policies toward Taiwan under the Trump administration will continue. He said the Biden administration is doing so, including inviting Taiwan’s representative to the U.S., Mei-Chin Hsiao, to the presidential inauguration and publicly condemning China’s military actions in the Taiwan Strait. He said, “It appears, at least so far, that the Biden team is trying to be very direct in its outreach and support to Taiwan.”
-Carlson: Biden may quietly withdraw some measures
But Carlson of Cornell University believes that Biden’s top agenda right now is dealing with the New Crown Epidemic and that he would not want the situation in the Taiwan Strait to escalate or get into a dispute over Taiwan. He said, “I think he may quietly roll back some of the more controversial initiatives that Trump took before he left office, but at the same Time make it clear to Beijing that the U.S. will strongly oppose any unilateral action that changes the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.”
-Chengbin: Biden’s position on Taiwan unclear
Cheng Bin, for his part, believes that while some of the Biden administration’s current actions are very symbolic, Biden’s position on Taiwan is not yet very clear. He said, “Trump is probably the most supportive U.S. leader in 40 years of strengthening U.S.-Taiwan relations. I think the Obama administration was one of the weaker administrations in support of Taiwan, and Biden was vice president at the time.”
Analysts: Biden’s China policy has changed shape and quality
Professor Carlson said one advantage (luxury) of the Biden administration is the option of continuing which Trump-era policies toward China and then forming a more comprehensive long-term strategy. But the differences, he argues, are more of form than substance.
It would be a mistake to think that there will be a significant improvement in U.S.-China relations,” he said. Both major U.S. political parties have very little political will to improve the U.S.-China relationship. But I think most people want to see the relationship stabilize, and that’s what we can expect to see in the coming months.”
Cooper of the Enterprise Institute holds a similar view. He said the Biden administration will continue the competitive posture of the Trump years, but with less sharp-edge rhetoric: “The Biden team will probably try to take actions that they think will actually influence China’s behavior, but will eschew the kind of rhetoric that some Trump administration officials have used that seems a little tit-for-tat and unhelpful to them. “
Cheng Bin of the Heritage Foundation, for his part, noted that the future direction of U.S. policy toward China does not depend solely on the U.S. side. As the saying goes, a slap on the wrist won’t cut it,” he said. When it comes to the U.S.-China relationship, we have to recognize that China will also influence policy changes. The U.S. is bound to respond with a different policy mix to a China that openly threatens Taiwan and a China that shows a posture of détente.”
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