In his closing speech at China’s annual parliamentary meeting on Monday, Xi Jinping, the country’s most powerful leader in generations, had an ominous message for his people and for those listening beyond its borders. “After a century of struggle, our national humiliation has been erased … the Chinese nation’s great revival is on an irreversible path,” he warned. The abrasive tone of much of the rhetoric coming out of Beijing last week may have dashed the hopes of those in the west who had hoped for a softening of mood…
Tag: US foreign policy
China says Aukus submarines deal embarks on ‘path of error and danger’
China has accused the US, UK and Australia of embarking on a “path of error and danger” in response to the Aukus partners’ announcement of a deal on nuclear-powered submarines. “The latest joint statement from the US, UK and Australia demonstrates that the three countries, for the sake of their own geopolitical interests, completely disregard the concerns of the international communities and are walking further and further down the path of error and danger,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a regular press briefing on Tuesday. The multibillion-dollar…
Biden budget includes billions for Pacific islands in bid to ‘out-compete’ China
Alarmed by China’s success in wooing Pacific island nations, the Biden administration is proposing to spend billions from its federal budget to keep three of those countries in the US orbit. President Joe Biden’s spending plan, released on Thursday, includes more than $7.1bn in funding for the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. The money is included in the $63.1bn request for the state department and the US Agency for International Development. The White House said the payments were part of its strategy to “out-compete China” and strengthen America’s alliances and…
The Guardian view on China-US relations: can the downwards spiral be halted? | Editorial
Looking back, it is hard to believe that in the Obama era there were serious discussions about whether a “G2” could emerge – with the US and China coming together, never easily but earnestly, and in good faith, to tackle the world’s great problems. The costs of mutual hostility are now greater and clearer than they were back then: the risk of global economic recession, a failure to tackle the climate crisis, and even of military conflict in the future. Yet far from strengthening, bilateral relations have nosedived. The relationship…
US expected to ease Covid testing for arrivals from China
The US is preparing to relax Covid-19 testing restrictions for travellers from China as soon as Friday, according to two people familiar with the decision. The people, who were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Biden administration had decided to roll back the testing requirements as cases, hospitalisations and deaths were declining in China and the US had gathered better information about the surge. The Washington Post was first to report on Tuesday about the easing of requirements. The restrictions were put…
Return of the wolf warriors? China’s fiery foreign minister Qin Gang
US-China relations are a “zero-sum game where you die and I live”. That was the summation of Qin Gang, China’s fiery new foreign minister, in his first media appearance since starting the role in December. Qin was speaking at the sidelines of the “two sessions” political meetings in Beijing. But while the parliamentary gathering is primarily concerned with domestic affairs, Qin took the opportunity to lay out China’s strident position on the world stage. The Biden administration has called for “guardrails” to keep the US-China relationship, which has deteriorated sharply…
China warns of potential ‘conflict and confrontation’ with US – video
China’s new foreign minister, Qin Gang, has warned that the US and China are heading towards inevitable conflict if Washington does not change its approach. In his first media appearance as foreign minister, Qin held a press conference to outline his foreign political agenda for the coming years, presenting China and its relationship with Russia as a beacon of strength and stability, and the US and its allies as a source of tension and conflict. ‘The United States’ perception of China is seriously distorted’ he said, suggesting ‘this leads to…
Joe Biden to meet Olaf Scholz in effort to keep Ukraine strategies aligned
Joe Biden is due to meet the German chancellor as part of continuing efforts to keep the US and Europe aligned in their defence of Ukraine. It will be a working visit to the White House for Olaf Scholz, stripped of any pomp or protocol. No press conference has been planned for the meeting on Friday afternoon and the chancellor will reportedly not be bringing press with him. A senior administration official predicted it would be short but intense. “We’re expecting it to be a one-hour meeting or so,” the…
Competing US views on origins of Covid reveal deeper splits over China policy
The FBI chief, Chris Wray, has endorsed the theory that the Covid pandemic was the result of a laboratory leak in China, further sharpening an increasingly combative bilateral relationship. In making his intervention, Wray, who was appointed by Donald Trump, was also taking sides in an internal debate over Covid’s origins, which has become a proxy for a broader tussle between hawks and doves within the administration. The Biden White House has sought to strike a balance between confronting Beijing over what it sees as unacceptable behaviour and trying to…
‘Time is not on our side’: Congress panel says tackling China defines next century
The US Congress must act urgently to counter the economic and national security threats posed by the Chinese government, a bipartisan chorus of lawmakers on a newly created special House committee has warned during an inaugural, primetime hearing. The two superpowers were locked in an “existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century”, the committee’s Republican chairman, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, said as the rivalry between the US and China deepens. With democracy advocates and protesters in attendance, the panel – formally the House Select Committee…