SINGAPORE – The Biden administration is likely to maintain harsh rhetoric against China, a former Singapore diplomat said Wednesday.
But it remains to be seen whether the government would listen to other countries in the region before implementing its policies on Beijing, Kishore Mahbubani, now a leading fellow at the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore, told CNBCs ” Squawk Box Asia. “
“I think there is absolutely no doubt that the Biden administration must come across as very strict on China,” he said, adding, “That’s very clear because there is a strong two-part consensus within the United States that it is time for the US to stand up to China. “
He made his comments Wednesday morning during Asian hours before Joe Biden was inaugurated.
US-China relations have deteriorated significantly under President Donald Trump as the two superpowers fought a trade war and compete for technological superiority. In some cases, the US tried to get countries on its side against China. But in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia, Beijing’s economic and political influence remains strong.
“The crucial thing here is, will the Biden government listen to the countries of the region before implementing any policy on China?” Mahbubani said. He explained that if the Biden administration started to listen, it would find that there is a very strong consensus in East Asia.
“Yes, you have to be steadfast and strong in China, but we also have to get along with China. We have to work with China. We want our economies to recover from Covid-19. So that’s the message you’re getting,” Mahbubani said .
The US Capitol Building is preparing for the inaugural ceremonies for President-elect Joe Biden as American flags will be placed in the ground at the National Mall on January 18, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
“At the end of the day, I am actually optimistic that behind the very strong rhetoric there is also a notion in the Biden government that they are working with the rest of East Asia. And frankly, working with China too. to critical issues like climate change, for example, ”he added.
US return to Asia
Under the Obama administration, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement was one of the cornerstones of the American hub to Asia. Trump pulled the US out of that agreement when he first took office in 2017.
The remaining 11 countries in the TPP continued to renegotiate the pact and signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2018. Last year, China and 14 other countries signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which became the world’s largest trading bloc, with a market of 2.2 billion people and $ 26.2 trillion in global output.
As such, the United States is not involved in any of the mega-trade deals involving most of Asia’s leading economies, except India.
The TPP was a “gift to the United States because it was a way to anchor the US presence in East Asia to ensure that this region is not dominated by China,” said Mahbubani.
He explained that an unfavorable domestic stance in the US towards free trade agreements, even those that could potentially be beneficial to the country, would make it more difficult for Washington to rejoin the new CPTPP.
“To really make a turnaround, the US would have to find ways and means to come back into the Trans-Pacific partnership perhaps in a very subtle and indirect way,” Mahbubani said.