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Global Times Editorial: What Exactly Does America’s ‘Competition’ Mean?

China’s state-run media Global Times published an editorial commenting on the Biden Administration’s China Policy after Biden had taken over the White House for one year. Below in an excerpt from the editorial.

On Jan 19th, “Rosenberg, the senior director of China affairs at the White House National Security Council, made a special elaboration on the United States’ China policy. She said that the United States will strengthen its deterrence against China in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region to ensure victory in the competition with China. At the same time, it will strive to manage competition with China, maintain communication channels with China, and set up guardrails to restrain competition and manage potential risks.”

“We have heard this many times over the past year. ‘Competition’ is a key word repeatedly emphasized by the Biden administration in its relations with China. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken once proposed the ‘3C’ policy, that is, ‘competition, confrontation, cooperation.’ Among these ‘3Cs,’ ‘cooperation’ has been increasingly marginalized, and “competition” has become more and more prominent, dominating the C position. But what exactly does Washington mean by ‘competition’?”

“Rosenberg revealed that the United States is about to launch a so-called ‘Indo-Pacific Economic Framework’ with regional partners. Obviously, this ‘Indo-Pacific Economic Framework’ is aimed at China. It wants to create a small economic and trade circle that surrounds China but excludes China, and aims to poach the foothold of economic and trade cooperation between China and foreign countries (including China and the United States). Rosenberg specifically mentioned the Taiwan Strait, where the U.S. has continued its unabated actions. This is a provocation to China’s core interests and continues to undermine the political foundation of China-U.S. relations.”

“Rosenberg also said that the United States is committed to working with its allies to shape the strategic environment encircling China. As soon as the words were out, we immediately saw them in action. On the 20th, Japan and France held the ‘2+2’ talks between foreign ministers and defense ministers. On the 21st, Biden held online consultations with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. On the same day, Britain and Australia held ‘2+2’ talks between foreign ministers and defense ministers. The three events have a common theme: ‘countering Chinese influence.'”

“Through ‘listening to the words and watching the deeds’ of the United States in the past two years, “it is not difficult for the Chinese to come to the judgment: In Washington’s mind, confrontation and containment are the essence, cooperation is an expedient measure, and competition is a discourse trap. The White House has changed owners, but its China policy has not changed. President Biden has repeatedly said that he does not want to mess up the U.S.-China relationship and does not want a conflict between the two countries; but the actual actions of the United States are constantly weakening the foundation of China-U.S. cooperation, while creating and accumulating the risk of Sino-U.S. conflict.”

Source: Global Times, January 20, 2022
https://opinion.huanqiu.com/article/46TyxitXGcW