CHINA “SUBDUED” ON UKRAINE
US views of China have hardened in recent years and Biden has largely maintained the substance of his predecessor Donald Trump’s hardline approach of seeing Beijing as the pre-eminent global competitor of the United States.
But Blinken in a recent speech made clear that the United States was not seeking a new “Cold War,” even as he held firm on criticism – including accusing Beijing of genocide against the mostly Muslim Uyghur people.
The Biden administration is widely expected soon to ease some of Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods, a move that could ease soaring inflation, which has become a major political liability in the United States.
US officials have also been cautiously upbeat about China’s stance on Ukraine, condemning its rhetorical backing of Russia but seeing no sign that Beijing is backing its words with material support.
“What was striking was how measured and, sort of, subdued” China was on Ukraine during Friday’s closed-door G20 talks, one official said, amid US-led attempts to isolate Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who diplomats said walked out amid Western criticism.
Wang did not offer “any full-throated endorsement or any sort of signal that China and Russia have this kind of pact,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
US officials are keenly aware that any minor honeymoon with China could be fleeting.
Xi, China’s most powerful leader in decades, is expected to shake up the foreign policy team at the Communist Party’s National Congress later this year.
But Craig Singleton, who follows China at the hawkish Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, expected Xi again to appoint technocrats who can work with Washington.
“The reason is simply – China’s economy is facing considerable headwinds and Chinese policymakers appear eager to recognise that China’s aggressive rhetoric has backfired,” he said.
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