Biden's 'protect, promote' agendas set US-China ties in reverse mode

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A report published by Politico discerned that the period of cooperation between China and the US is coming to a screeching halt after decades of Washington’s efforts to engage Beijing with the hope of better development through trade.

In a move that defies decades of federal policy and is the most aggressive US measure to date to thwart Beijing's economic and military progress, the White House and Congress are covertly redefining American commercial relations with the second-largest economic power in the world, the report stipulated.

“The new strategy, which the Biden administration internally calls its protect agenda, is being rolled out this fall and winter in a series of executive actions,” the report added.

“Taken together, the “protect” and “promote” agendas represent a fundamental rethinking in the American government’s approach to China’s technological advancement and, ultimately, its economic development,” it added.

Furthermore, the report speculated that security officials are now working to slow down Beijing's technological advancement, which is currently concentrated in chips and computing but will soon spread to other industries. 

Previously, US policymakers were content to control China's technological development and ensure that it remained a few generations behind the US, as per their claims.

“Regardless of their assurances, the new scrutiny on US-China commerce has free traders — now on the sidelines after decades of policymaking dominance — fearful of a gradual slide into a new Cold War stance against China, one where any cooperation between the nations could be assailed as assisting the ruling Communist Party,” the report added.

“Those initiatives come on the heels of Biden’s “promote” agenda — using the government to promote American competitiveness,” it eviscerated.

What was unmasked by Politico coincides with Beijing's declaration that it will work to "recalibrate" its ties with the US and strengthen engagement with Europe as it identifies its primary diplomatic objectives for the upcoming year.

Chinese Minister Wang Yi has lately stated that the United States must take China's genuine concerns seriously, and stop restricting and inhibiting China's development. This comes as Sino-US relations deteriorated after Washington stubbornly made its way to Taiwan, breaching Chinese sovereignty.

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