Biden wants to beat China. Beijing says, bring it on.
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Ned Temko Correspondent
| London
If a full-on 鈥渘ew cold war鈥� is brewing between the United States and China 鈥� and we鈥檙e not there yet 鈥� Beijing is girding itself for battle.
As Washington seeks to build a common front to challenge China鈥檚 autocracy at home and assertiveness abroad, Beijing is signaling its determination to stymie that move and to build alliances of its own.
The two countries still have an interest in stopping short of Cold War II 鈥� a competition not just between two major powers but between rival power blocs across the world stage.
Why We Wrote This
Washington is seeking allies to counter Chinese autocracy, and Beijing is girding for battle. But potential areas for cooperation could persuade both sides to avoid a new cold war.
And at the first high-level U.S.-Chinese talks since the election of President Joe Biden 鈥� in Anchorage last month 鈥� both sides held out the prospect of finding areas for cooperation.
But such talk was drowned out by an extraordinary public exchange of accusations by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top Chinese foreign policy official Yang Jiechi. The main dividing line: human rights.
Mr. Blinken set out a frank bill of particulars: the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, China鈥檚 pressure campaign against Taiwan, and the systematic repression of Uyghur Muslims in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. Mr. Yang suggested that America should look to its own record on human rights before criticizing others.
A few days later, when the U.S., Europe, and Canada imposed sanctions against government officials in Xinjiang, China鈥檚 response was striking and unequivocal: Whatever pressure you or your allies bring to bear, we鈥檒l match and raise.
Beijing retorted with sanctions of its own. Significantly, they were targeted more heavily against the European Union, in effect signaling to European countries that they risked paying a heavy price 鈥� access to China鈥檚 huge consumer market 鈥� if they aligned themselves with Washington.
The next day, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on a visit. When Mr. Lavrov denounced Washington for falling back on 鈥渢he military-political alliances of the Cold War era,鈥� Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying backed him up. 鈥淛ust look at the map,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd you will know that China has friends all over the world. What would we worry about?鈥�
As if to drive home that point, Beijing proceeded to demonstrate the importance of its ties with two countries at the top of Washington鈥檚 worry list, and where Mr. Blinken would like Chinese cooperation.
First, nuclear-armed North Korea. Chinese leader Xi Jinping exchanged personal messages with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirming their alliance. Pyongyang termed this a show of 鈥渦nity鈥� against the Biden administration鈥檚 鈥渉ostile鈥� policies.
Days later, Foreign Minister Wang signed a 25-year cooperation agreement in Iran, sealing what he termed a 鈥減ermanent and strategic鈥� relationship that seems certain to deepen economic, infrastructure, and security ties under China鈥檚 鈥淏elt and Road鈥� financing program.
Closer to home, China鈥檚 parliament this week further tightened its grip on Hong Kong. It approved changes to the electoral system there, reducing the number of elected seats in its parliament and requiring all candidates to pass muster on their 鈥減atriotic鈥� loyalty to Beijing.
The irony is that, at least in the near term, China鈥檚 assertive response seems likely to reinforce rather than erode cohesion between Washington and its allies. Popular sentiment toward China in major democracies has been souring. A Pew survey across more than a dozen advanced economies late last year found nearly 8 in 10 people lacked confidence in Mr. Xi to 鈥渄o the right thing鈥� internationally.
A series of recent reports concerning the Uyghurs 鈥� alleging, among other things, the use of forced labor and forced sterilizations 鈥� has further hardened criticism of China鈥檚 human rights record by members of the European Parliament.
That body must ratify a long-sought EU-China investment treaty, sealed last December. But since Beijing slapped its sanctions on a number of EU legislators, parliamentary ratification is looking increasingly unlikely.
The key question now is whether Washington and Beijing will be minded 鈥� or able 鈥� to find a way to stop short of across-the-board political confrontation and carve out areas of cooperation.
China鈥檚 recent diplomatic embrace of North Korea and Iran may have been intended not merely as a taunt, but as a reminder to Washington: If you want to rein in North Korea鈥檚 nuclear arsenal and keep Iran from getting one, you鈥檙e likely to need our help.
And there鈥檚 another, broader issue where the U.S. administration has made clear that it sees China鈥檚 partnership as indispensable: the worldwide response to climate change.聽
That issue may provide an early sign of whether cooperation indeed remains possible, and the litmus test won鈥檛 involve meetings, diplomatic overtures, sanctions, or rhetorical exchanges.
It will come in the shape of an RSVP to a virtual summit on climate change that Mr. Biden is hosting later this month.
Mr. Xi is on the guest list.
