Can Biden realize ambition?
US aims to cut China’s role in post-virus recovery
The Biden administration has been preparing its China strategy, aiming to block China in what analysts call “small, slow yet institutional” steps. On the international stage, Washington is trying to rope other G7 and Western economies to form an alliance to curb the world’s secondlargest economy. Internally, it has been evaluating supply chains and economic policies involving Beijing in a comprehensive manner.
While there is an obvious departure from the former Trump administration’s policies, analysts pointed out that Biden will strike a more nuanced tone with Beijing. Unlike Trump, who took a clear stand to decouple with China, Biden’s administration will employ “structural means” and unite Western allies to curb what they claim is the “China challenge.”
However, it remains unclear whether Washington’s call will resonate with its allies. With G7 nations such as Germany and Japan’s economic ties with China inching closer, Western economies are trading off between their economic interests and how to maintain relations with their traditional ally, the US, whose reputation sank during Trump’s four years of mayhem.
The G7 virtual meeting is set to take place on Friday.
According to the White House, US President Joe Biden, along with leaders from the other G7 nations, will discuss the coronavirus pandemic, the world economy and “dealing with China.”
Analysts said Biden’s speech at the summit aims to deliver a clear signal that the economies of the G7 industrial nations will develop in a robust manner and reclaim their leading roles in driving the world’s growth.
Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies from the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Friday that Biden will try to make US-led Western cooperation mechanisms, such as the G7, play a more important and active role in exerting pressure on China’s growth, unlike Trump.
“The G7 nations have an edge in technology and the international division of labor. If they reach a consensus on strengthening high-tech and supply-chain cooperation, they will cement their advantages while depriving China of development opportunities,” Cui said.
He added that Biden’s strategy will not be a repeat of Trump’s China strategy – that is, firing all shots at once. But rather, its approach will be through “long-term institutional means” and involve taking small and slow steps.