President Joe Biden spoke with Chinese Communist Party President Xi Jinping on the phone on Thursday, where he expressed American concerns about human rights issues in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan, while Xi looked forward to “win-win cooperation” between China and the United States. But before the call, the U.S. also declared a tough stance on Taiwan and military issues. According to public opinion, Biden emphasized American values to Xi, highlighting the new “three major obstacles” in the U.S.-China relationship, which cannot return to the Obama era.
On New Year’s Eve, the Chinese New Year, Biden had a phone call with Xi Jinping, the first between a U.S. and Chinese head of state since Biden was inaugurated as U.S. president a month ago. In addition to congratulating the Chinese people on the Lunar New Year, Biden also mentioned his concerns about human rights and other issues in China. A White House statement said President Biden highlighted fundamental concerns about Beijing‘s coercive and unfair economic practices, repression in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including against Taiwan.
Scholar:CCP Eager to Gain Access to U.S. Strategic Intentions Toward China
Wu Qiang, a former lecturer in the political science department at Tsinghua University in Beijing, said in an interview with Radio Free Asia on the same day that Biden, after becoming U.S. president, has spoken on the phone with the leaders of almost all major countries, except for the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, and that China has been eager to talk to the U.S. government in various ways in the past three weeks in order to obtain new U.S. policies toward China: “China is eager to to gain access to U.S. strategic intentions, and indeed this diplomatic decoupling between China and the United States has been going on for a year. This diplomatic decoupling is more serious and dangerous than any other area of decoupling, and is the most dangerous period of diplomatic communication between China and the United States since 1971.”
However, official Chinese Communist Party media did not mention that Biden expressed concerns to Xi about human rights in China and other issues, but rather emphasized the importance of Xi’s expression of U.S.-China relations to Biden. Xi stressed that the two countries should work together, uphold the spirit of non-conflict and non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, focus on cooperation, manage differences and promote the healthy and stable development of U.S.-China relations, Xinhua said.
Wu Qiang said three major new obstacles have emerged in China-U.S. relations: “The first obstacle is the issue of Indo-Pacific security, including Taiwan. The second obstacle is around Hong Kong and the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the Basic Law, China’s recognition of international treaties, its adherence to the “50-year unchanged” political commitment, and a basic attitude toward democracy and freedom in Hong Kong. The third obstacle is the persecution of human rights within China, as represented by the Xinjiang human rights issue.”
Taiwan Strait security integrated into Indo-Pacific security
The phone call between the two men followed a meeting between Taiwan’s representative to the U.S., Mei-Chin Hsiao, and Sung Kim, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs at the U.S. State Department. The State Department said after the meeting that Taiwan is a leader in democracy and an important economic and security partner, and that the United States is committed to deepening its relationship with Taiwan. This is the first Time since President Biden took office that a representative of Taiwan to the U.S. has entered the State Department.
Wu Qiang said that in the four decades since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, the Taiwan issue has always been the biggest obstacle between the two countries, but in recent years a subtle change is taking place: “The three major obstacles at that time, the Taiwan issue was the core, now the Taiwan issue is not the core, but it belongs to a component of the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region. The other two obstacles all have their categories.”
Taiwan’s representative to the U.S. met with U.S. officials before Biden’s call with Xi Jinping. (U.S. Department of State Bureau of East Asian Affairs Twitter image)
Biden Warns of Use of Force to Safeguard Nationals and Allies
In addition to the Taiwan issue, President Joe Biden is also preparing for both sides of the military issue. In a speech at the Pentagon before his call with Xi, Biden said U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin will set up a new working group to review U.S. strategy toward China. He asked the working group to come up with recommendations within a few months that would help the United States chart a strong and robust course forward on China to meet the growing challenge from the Chinese Communist Party. He warned that the United States will not hesitate to use force to defend vital U.S. interests, protect the American people and international allies, and emphasized the Defense Department’s mission to stop enemy aggression and win wars. He added, however, that the use of force is not the primary option, but a way of last resort.
Hong Kong current affairs commentator Lin He Li believes that although the Trump administration has retired from office, the U.S. and China are still in a state of conflict in many ways.
Lin He Li: “These geopolitical including in the South China Sea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and other issues, the two countries can be mutual understanding and accommodation, mutual tolerance of the chances are relatively low, because Xi Jinping has been to the 2022 Communist Party 20, will indicate the strength of China, to the world, the policy is still maintained; Biden, traditionally, the Clinton or Obama administration and China to take “engagement” policy, is the line of more cooperation, but in four years under Trump, whether the Democratic Party or the Republican Party will feel that they can not be weak to the Chinese Communist Party”
Lu Jun, a scholar living in the U.S., told the station that Biden’s call with Xi Jinping is more symbolic than practical because Biden is now almost a continuation of his predecessor’s policy toward China: “It can be said that it came quite late, why call Xi Jinping today, because the Chinese New Year is coming up, if Biden does not call Xi Jinping today, I am afraid that Xi Jinping will not even have a good time this year If Biden doesn’t call Xi Jinping today, I’m afraid he won’t even have a good year.”
The USS Nimitz and USS Roosevelt carrier strike groups are now meeting in the South China Sea and conducting joint exercises, which is the strongest military deterrent Biden has shown in the South China Sea since he took office.
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