The Biden administration is touting its efforts on China, pointing to counternarcotics cooperation, discussions on artificial intelligence and the resumption of military-to-military contacts as evidence of cooperation that has reduced tensions between the two rivals.
“This intensive diplomacy was about managing difficult issues rather than repairing relationships,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday evening at a Council on Foreign Relations event.
He noted that Taiwan held “historic elections” earlier this month “without any major cross-Strait incidents” and said that was partly because Washington, Beijing and Taipei were working “to reduce conflicts.” communication problems and misperceptions. Beijing considers Taiwan a capricious province and does not rule out the use of force to take full control of the island.
Sullivan’s speech was the latest in a series of briefings from senior officials in recent days that showed the administration’s emphasis on maintaining the stability of the U.S.-China relationship.
A key element is leader-to-leader engagement, Sullivan said, noting that a call between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is expected to take place “fairly soon.” A senior administration official told VOA that Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also expected to visit Beijing again “at some point” this year.
The White House message comes amid ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and as Biden prepares for his re-election campaign against former US President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, where tough talks on China are likely on both sides.
Trump is already criticizing Biden’s green energy policies designed to support American manufacturing and purchasing of electric vehicles, saying they will allow China’s electric vehicle industry to steal American jobs.
Address the differences
Sullivan highlighted his recent meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and various engagements by senior Biden administration officials with their Chinese counterparts to resolve issues critical to U.S. interests. They include “Beijing’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine,” human rights and global supply chain disruptions.
“We have not given up on measures focused on national security, such as restrictions on overseas investment and updating our export controls,” he said. “Instead, we are using these meetings as opportunities to explain what these measures were, but, almost as importantly, what they were not.”
“Competitive structural dynamics,” Sullivan argued, need not prevent both sides from addressing their mutual interests and transnational issues. “A sustainable China policy is about keeping multiple truths in mind at the same time and working iteratively to reconcile them,” he said.
Sullivan declined to confirm whether China agreed to use its influence over Tehran to curb attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants on transport ships in the Red Sea. Clashes between the United States and the Houthis in Yemen and with other Iranian proxies in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria – consequences of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza – have threatened to draw Washington into a more serious war. wide in the Middle East.
Chip warfare and cyber operations
Concerns remain, notably the chip war which continues to be at the center of the technological rivalry between the United States and China, with Beijing accusing Washington of “hegemonic practices and intimidation” by denying China access to a limited group of advanced semiconductors while improving the capabilities of home chips.
There are also concerns that Chinese hacking operations could reach US infrastructure and even disrupt elections. In a briefing to U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Chinese government hackers are actively targeting the U.S. power grid, wastewater treatment plants, gas pipelines and transportation systems .
Wray alleged that Beijing is waging cyber campaigns to “silencing, coercing and threatening our citizens and residents.” The National Intelligence Council also said in a December report that Beijing “tacitly approved efforts to attempt to influence a handful of midterm elections involving members of both U.S. political parties.”
As Biden prepares for re-election in November, his administration is wary of even the appearance of election interference from adversaries. In an interview with VOA on Wednesday, National Security Council John Kirby declined to confirm reports that President Xi Jinping had promised President Joe Biden during their last meeting in November that China would not interfere in the American elections.
“We have been clear publicly and we have spoken privately with people around the world about what we are doing, what we need to do to ensure that our elections are free and fair, and they have been and they will continue to be. being. “Kirby said.
Beijing will likely be cautious about interfering in the U.S. presidential election, said Jeremi Suri, a professor of international relations at the University of Texas at Austin.
“We could see some Chinese interference via bots and online activity with respect to some congressional elections, especially if they perceive some members of Congress to be too hawkish toward China,” he said. he told VOA.
Aside from the potential for new irritants, after a turbulent period last year in which China flew balloons to spy on the United States, relations between Washington and Beijing have largely stabilized, Rana said Mitter, professor of US-China relations at the Harvard Kennedy School.
“The Biden administration and the U.S. government have taken very active steps to try to find points of calm where China can engage,” he told VOA. “And on the part of China, there seems to be a will that didn’t exist just a year or two ago.”
A calm that the administration is keen to preserve in the midst of the brewing war in the Middle East.
VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
