U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently delivered a speech on China policy, in which he stressed the need to contain China while also saying that he would avoid falling into a "new Cold War" with China. He also announced that the United States would set up a special group to coordinate the implementation of its China policy. This statement is in stark contrast to his previous hard-line stance, and one cannot help but wonder whether there has been a change in US policy toward China.
In his speech, Blinken acknowledged that China is the "most serious long-term challenge" to the so-called "international order," but he also stressed that the United States is determined to avoid a "new Cold War" with China, according to the Observer on May 27**. He also said that China and the United States have a key role to play in areas such as the global economy and climate change, and the two countries must cooperate with each other instead of repeating the mistakes of the "Cold War."
Blinken's statement is very different from his previous words and deeds. Just a week ago, he postponed his scheduled speech on China policy because of a positive coronavirus, when all walks of life in the United States said that he would send a "stern signal" to China. Prior to this, he had repeatedly played the "Taiwan card," denied the "one-China principle," and even wanted to help Taiwan participate in the World Health Assembly. After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he also tried to win over China and demanded that China "stand on the right side of the international community".
There are three possible reasons for this.
First of all, the United States is already engaged in a fierce confrontation with Russia, the United States-led NATO has conducted large-scale military exercises on the Russian-Ukrainian border, and the United States has also imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia, causing US-Russian relations to fall to a freezing point. The United States may already feel powerless when facing the challenge of two major powers at the same time, so on the issue of China, they have to restrain themselves a little and avoid setting themselves on fire. This is why the United States has sometimes been tough and sometimes softer on China, sending a vague message to China and its allies.
Secondly, the U.S. economy is largely dependent on the Chinese market, especially in the field of semiconductors, the United States is the global leader, accounting for nearly half of the global market share, and China is the largest consumer, accounting for one-third of the global market share, which means that the United States' chip sales are very dependent on the Chinese market. In addition to exports, the United States also needs to import a large number of cheap goods from China, and during the epidemic, the ** chain in the United States has been severely affected, resulting in empty supermarket shelves in the United States.
Finally, as the two most developed and developed countries in the world, China and the United States have a responsibility to set a good example for the international community, just as the previous cooperation between China and the United States on climate issues has had a positive impact on the international community. Climate change is a common challenge facing all mankind, and every country should actively respond to it, and China-US cooperation will promote closer collaboration between countries around the world on climate issues.
This is why Blinken will have such a change in his speech on China policy, competition between China and the United States is inevitable, and it is normal for some countries to prefer one or the other because of historical, cultural and other factors, but most countries are unwilling to be forced to choose between China and the United States and confront the other side, the confrontation between China and the United States is not in the interests of any country, and achieving win-win cooperation in all fields is the responsibility and example that a major country should have.
Although the United States is the hegemon of the world, it cannot completely ignore the will of the international community, and if they insist on going their own way, then Biden's promise to "bring the United States back to the center of the world stage" may only be an empty word.