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Biden China Tracker

By

Malcolm Riddell
By

Malcolm Riddell
Biden China Tracker

The Biden Doctrine and Its Discontents

President Biden has framed China as a threat both to the U.S. and the liberal world order.

Malcolm Riddell

Founder of CHINADebate
Biden China Tracker

'What's Wrong with Biden’s new China doctrine'

‘Mr Biden’s aides invariably start any discussion of China strategy with the need to restore American greatness after decades of decline.’
Biden China Tracker

Part 2 | Joe Biden is determined that China should not displace America

‘Mr Biden’s aides invariably start any discussion of China strategy with the need to restore American greatness after decades of decline.’
Biden China Tracker

Part 1 | 'Joe Biden is determined that China should not displace America'

‘Biden’s emerging China strategy, while still protean, sounds of a kind with Mr Doshi’s prescription for “blunting and building”.’
Biden China Tracker

'NATO & China's Challenges to Europe'

‘Even though China does not pose a direct military threat to NATO, contrary to Russia or terrorist groups, Beijing’s growing economic influence and diplomatic assertiveness in Europe coupled with its growing military relationship with Russia do have major implications for the transatlantic economy as well as its security.’
Biden China Tracker

Biden Worries China Might Win

‘Biden has taken the vital first step of correctly diagnosing the strategic challenge facing the country.’ ‘Like Harry Truman at the start of the Cold War and George H. W. Bush at its end, the president now has an opportunity to create a framework for a new era.’

Malcolm Riddell

Founder of CHINADebate
Biden China Tracker

Joe Biden: 'My trip to Europe is about America rallying the world’s democracies'

‘This is a defining question of our time: Can democracies come together to deliver real results for our people in a rapidly changing world?’
Biden China Tracker

'Joe Biden Worries That China Might Win'

‘Biden worries that China is in competition for America, and not only that—they might win. This belief underpins the Biden doctrine.’
Biden China Tracker

'From the G7 to a D-10: Strengthening democratic cooperation for today's challenges'

‘A “Democratic-10” or “D-10” is aimed at rallying the world’s most powerful democracies around a common cause— advancing a rules-based democratic order based on shared values and common interests.’
Biden China Tracker

Postscript: China Doubts U.S. Allies Support

'Chinese leadership is also cynical about the effectiveness of a U.S.-led Cold War-style bloc.’

Cheng Li

Director of the John L. Thornton China Center & Senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings
Biden China Tracker

China's ‘Anti-Hegemonist Bloc’

‘To counter U.S. coalition building, China has enhanced its diplomatic, economic, and military relationship with both Russia and Iran in recent months, resulting in the closest ties these countries have had in the post-Cold War era.’

Cheng Li

Director of the John L. Thornton China Center & Senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings
Biden China Tracker

What China Thinks About Biden's China Policy

And that is what makes Cheng Li’s ‘Biden’s China strategy: Coalition-driven competition or Cold War-style confrontation?' so valuable. Cheng has decades of close relationships with China’s leaders and high officials. They trust him not to attribute their comments and so speak freely and honestly to him. Cheng is the person I rely on most to convey China’s positions.

Malcolm Riddell

Founder of CHINADebate
Biden China Tracker

'Final Thoughts'

'Just as Brzezinski foresaw the two new contending blocs –– requiring greater “geostrategic skill” –– that are forming today, Kissinger has emphasized the unprecedented dangers that AI could introduce into a divided world.’

Cheng Li

Director of the John L. Thornton China Center & Senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings
Biden China Tracker

Worse for China than Trump

‘Many Chinese now believe that the Biden administration could be more detrimental to U.S.-China relations than the Trump administration.’

Cheng Li

Director of the John L. Thornton China Center & Senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings
Biden China Tracker

The Trump Legacy

‘From Beijing’s perspective, the hawkish approach to China in the final year of the Trump administration revealed that the Trump team sought to defeat and destroy China in much the same way that the United States defeated the Soviet Union in the Cold War.’

Cheng Li

Director of the John L. Thornton China Center & Senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings
Biden China Tracker

'Biden’s China strategy: Coalition-driven competition or Cold War-style confrontation?'

‘Senior officials on the foreign policy team have frequently emphasized three “C” words: competition, cooperation, and confrontation.’

Cheng Li

Director of the John L. Thornton China Center & Senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings
Biden China Tracker

Biden’s ‘Anti-China Bloc’

‘Throughout President Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office, his administration has largely continued the Trump administration’s hawkish approach toward China.’ ‘President Biden has also made international coalition building to confront the growing power and influence of China his primary foreign policy initiative.’ ‘Chinese leaders and the public are not convinced by the statements recently made by President Biden that these U.S.-led alliances are “not anti-Chinese” and that the United States is “not looking for confrontation” with China.’

Cheng Li

Director of the John L. Thornton China Center & Senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings
Biden China Tracker

'China's Response to Biden's Speech'

‘It is natural for the two sides to have competition in some fields, but we should advocate fair competition, like competing with each other for excellence in a racing field, not beating each other on a wrestling arena.’
Biden China Tracker

'Biden’s First 100 Days: Setting the Table for U.S.-China Strategic Competition'

‘Biden is focused on accumulating as much leverage as possible to deal with China from a position of strength and to dispel the growing Chinese perception that the United States is a power in decline.’
Biden China Tracker

'Biden's Speech Calls for U.S. to Take On China and Russia'

‘President Biden justified his broad vision to remake the American economy as the necessary step to survive long-run competition with China
Biden China Tracker

Biden China Policy: What We Know at the 100 Day Mark

Friday, April 30, marks 100 days of the Biden Presidency.On Thursday, President Biden gave a speech to a Joint Session of Congress that summed up many of policies – including those on China - as he nears the 100-day mark.And several major media outlets and think tanks are getting an early start on their analyses.Here's Senator Lindsey Graham: "I'm not very impressed with the first 100 days.”‘ "He's been a disaster on foreign policy.” ’‘ “Russia and China are already pushing him around, so I'm very worried." ’

Malcolm Riddell

Founder of CHINADebate
Biden China Tracker

'What Joe Biden Said About China in His First Speech to Joint Session of Congress'

“We’re in competition with China and other countries to win the 21st Century.”
Biden China Tracker

'What does Biden’s first 100 days tell us about his approach to China?'

‘What we have learned from the first 100 days is that we are likely to have both a confrontational and competitive relationship with China, similar to Trump’s policy but with some important nuances.’
Biden China Tracker

'Tokyo Flexes Its Talons'

‘The alliance with Japan is the single most important international relationship America has.’
Biden China Tracker

'The Best Explanation of Biden’s Economic Thinking I’ve Heard'

‘When President Biden’s thinking about the infrastructure investments necessary, a lot of it is in contraposition to what he is seeing China doing in terms of strategic investments.’
Biden China Tracker

Liu Ge: Competing with China a farfetched guise for US’ infrastructure plan

‘Historically speaking, it seems the only way for the US government to make costly public investments was to create an adversary that is presumed to threaten its security.’
Biden China Tracker

'Antony Blinken interview: The secretary of state offers a window into Biden's foreign policy decisions'

‘ “Our goal is not to contain China, hold China back, keep it down,” Blinken underlined.’
Biden China Tracker

'US adds Chinese supercomputing companies to export blacklist'

‘The Biden administration took its first trade action against China on Thursday, adding seven Chinese supercomputing developers to an export blacklist for assisting Chinese military efforts in a move that will likely further escalate frosty tensions between the world's two largest economies.’
Biden China Tracker

'Remarks by President Biden on the American Jobs Plan'

‘Look, do we think the rest of world is waiting around? Take a look. Do you think China is waiting around to invest in this digital infrastructure or in research and development?’

Biden China Tracker

‘2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure’

‘The 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure reveals we’ve made some incremental progress toward restoring our nation’s infrastructure.’ ‘For the first time in 20 years, our infrastructure is out of the D range. America's Infrastructure Scores a C-.’
Biden China Tracker

Mo' Infrastructure, Mo' Problems Copy

‘China’s reliance on building roads, railways and airports to support growth has caused a spike in debt, with some of that money funneled into unnecessary infrastructure and uneconomic boondoggle developments.’
Biden China Tracker

Biden Starts Infrastructure Bet With U.S. Far Behind China

Even though he didn’t rely solely on the China challenge to justify his new American Jobs Plan; devoted to infrastructure and more, President Biden certainly he had China in his sights. Because as Jonathan Hillman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote“The United States is entering what could be a decades-long competition in which economic and technological power will matter just as much, if not more, than military might.” “Starting this race with decaying infrastructure is like lining up for a marathon with a broken ankle.”
Biden China Tracker

How Does the U.S. Compare to China?

Two reports from Bloomberg – ‘Biden Starts Infrastructure Bet With U.S. Far Behind China’ and ‘Biden’s Biggest-Ever Investment Plan for U.S. Still Trails China’ – highlight a few of the differences.
Biden China Tracker

President Biden Lays Out His ‘American Jobs’ Plan

‘It has become a cliché in U.S. policy circles that the best China policy is to invest in core U.S. capabilities: education, infrastructure, and research and development,’ writes Evan Medeiros of Georgetown University in ‘How to Craft a Durable China Strategy,’ in Foreign Affairs.

Biden China Tracker

'New Trade Representative Says U.S. Isn’t Ready to Lift China Tariffs'

'The U.S. isn’t ready to lift tariffs on Chinese imports in the near future, but might be open to trade negotiations with Beijing, according to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.'
Biden China Tracker

2 | More to come?

‘This isn't about siding with America, it's about defending European sovereignty against a bully.’

Malcolm Riddell

Founder of CHINADebate
Biden China Tracker

1 | The first U.S.-EU alliance against China

"Europeans will have to step up their reaction against China after insults, intimidation and sanctions against scholars and MPs. This isn't about siding with America, it's about defending European sovereignty against a bully."

Malcolm Riddell

Founder of CHINADebate
Biden China Tracker

China Goes All 'Wolf Warrior' on the U.S. & the EU

Today is the Tracker’s first issue. Covered here are two events where China went all 'Wolf Warrior' first on the U.S. and then on the EU.

Malcolm Riddell

Founder of CHINADebate
Biden China Tracker

2 | In Anchorage, Yang Spoke for the Party Leadership

‘Yang's temper tantrum has been interpreted by some commentators as being all about Chinese domestic politics. But it would be a mistake to see Yang's performance as mere bluster designed for home consumption. In Anchorage, he was speaking for the top leadership of the Communist Party.’
Biden China Tracker

1 | Bitter Alaska Meeting Complicates Already Shaky U.S.-China Ties

'Mr. Yang, also noted “important disagreements” remained, and in remarks to Chinese state media suggested Beijing wouldn’t back down.'
Biden China Tracker

Just About in Place

To help us understand the makeup of the team, The Wire China has put together a great chart with bios of each member.