USTR releases Biden’s 2021 Trade Agenda
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published President Biden’s 2021 Trade Agenda and 2020 Annual Trade Report on Monday. Biden’s agenda underscores the importance of a comprehensive strategy to address China’s coercive and unfair economic trade practices. It also mentions the importance of domestic investment in US innovation to compete with China’s economy and expand American companies’ access to global markets. It...
Biden signs executive order mandating supply chain reviews
On Wednesday, the White House signed an executive order directing executive agencies to review US critical supply chains for vulnerabilities and suggest specific policies for addressing them. While the order does not directly mention China, it raises concerns about an overreliance on “nations that are, or are likely to become, unfriendly or unstable.”
100-day review: The executive order directs agencies to immediately...
In a town hall on Tuesday, President Joe Biden spoke about his approach to the US-China relationship and his recent conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Biden said his administration would reassert its role as spokesperson for human rights and ensure there are repercussions for China’s actions in Xinjiang. Doubling down, he warned that China would not become a world leader if it continued to harm basic human rights. On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dodged a...
On Wednesday, just before the Chinese Lunar New Year, President Joe Biden spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since Biden took office. According to the official White House readout, Biden underscored US concerns about China’s unfair economic practices, as well as the government’s activities in Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang, and assertive behavior toward Taiwan and in the Indo-Pacific region. The leaders also discussed areas of cooperation, such as climate change and...
The White House this week continued to emphasize a strategic approach to engaging China in coordination with allies. When pressed on the Biden administration’s China strategy on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki described the relationship as “multi-layered,” noting that it is a priority to engage China on climate, the economy, and security. Though President Joe Biden and his diplomatic team have continued to hold calls with foreign leaders, there is still no indication as to...
Congress has played an important role in developing China policy, including granting China permanent normal trade relations with the United States in 1999 in advance of China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. For several reasons, congressional interest in stewarding the United States’ approach to China has skyrocketed recently. In its two years in session, beginning in January 2019, the 116th Congress introduced an impressive 552 China-related proposals, comprised of 465 bills and...
The Biden administration this week affirmed its intention to hold China accountable on several fronts, making clear it would do so strategically and in coordination with allies. Strengthening cooperation on areas of shared interest, including China, were topics of President Biden and his national security team’s early engagements with foreign counterparts, which included Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada to name a few. It is not yet clear...
Genocide determination could impede Biden’s early engagement with China
President Joe Biden and his administration inherited an increasingly fraught US-China relationship on Wednesday. On Tuesday, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s last day in office, Pompeo determined that the Chinese government had committed crimes against humanity and genocide against the Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The US decision to label the situation a genocide under the UN Genocide Convention does not...
With less than a week left in office, and after Trump’s unprecedented second impeachment, the outgoing administration moved quickly this week to solidify its record on China. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stepped up the pace of anti-China actions this week, with actions almost certainly designed to challenge the incoming administration’s diplomatic efforts, particularly on China. Pompeo lifted self-imposed restrictions for diplomatic engagement with Taiwan, disregarding the One China policy...
Following chaos and violence at the Capitol on Wednesday, President Trump finally committed to an orderly transition of power after Congress had officially certified President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory. Democrats gained control of the Senate, with Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris to serve as a tiebreaker, a setup that could give Biden’s Cabinet nominees a comparatively smooth transition process. Biden is expected to nominate former venture capitalist and Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo...
