Biden continues to insist that he is speaking out “clearly and honestly” against President Xi. For example, his aversion to China’s autocratic system, his concerns about human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong and the pressure on Taiwan. That is partly a domestic mantra for Biden, to emphasize the style difference with his predecessor Trump. But he also made good on this promise, during previous meetings.
Because according to Biden, the competition with China is partly a systemic battle. “This is a struggle between democracy and autocracy in the 21st century,” he said shortly after taking office. “We have to prove that democracy works.” Biden sees this as America’s historic mandate: “Once a US president is silent about democracy and human rights, we will lose our legitimacy.”
China: we are no longer small
Correspondent Sjoerd den Daas continues: “Expectations are low, the contradictions great on the eve of this first virtual meeting. The fact that there is already talk seems to be the biggest gain in this phase.
after the two phone calls At first glance, the video call with Biden doesn’t seem like a big step up the diplomatic ladder. But party boss and president Xi Jinping has not left the People’s Republic since January 2020, when corona had just broken out. He also made no exception for the G20 and the subsequent climate summit in Glasgow. This meeting may not be called a summit, but in this phase video calling between the two leaders is the highest attainable.
It is clear that there is something to discuss. It is a thorn in the side of the Chinese that the United States is patrolling and conducting military exercises in what they see as their backyard, the South China Sea. But the battle is mainly centered around Taiwan.
In the past month, a record number of planes flew into Taiwan’s air defense zone. In an interview with CNN, the US president promised to intervene if China attacks Taiwan. China sees democratic Taiwan as a renegade province, which may need to be forcibly ‘reunited’ with mainland China.
It remains unclear what Biden’s pledges will be worth in the event of a Chinese invasion, but people are outraged in Beijing. In America, there are concerns about China’s growing nuclear arsenal, seen by Beijing as a dire need to counterbalance Washington.
–
