China’s Warning to Biden – WSJ

China’s director of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, Yang Jiechi, then shed a tear (including translation) for twenty minutes over the superiority of “Chinese-style democracy” and the sins of America. The latter included a reference to Black Lives Matter, human rights issues, and that the US “has exercised long-arm jurisdiction and oppression and overburdened national security through the use of force or financial hegemony.”

Mr. Yang added, “So we believe it is important for the United States to change its own image and stop promoting its own democracy in the rest of the world. In fact, many people in the United States have little faith in the United States’ democracy. As we have noted, the Chinese are happy to reiterate the awakened American media criticism of America.

Mr Blinken replied that the US “recognizes our imperfections, recognizes that we are not perfect, making mistakes, having reversals, taking steps back”, but then making progress again. This is true enough, but needlessly defensive after a foreigner’s public attack on US interests and values.

This is just one meeting, but it set the tone for the world’s most important bilateral relationship. The message leaks that the Chinese side private exchanges were just as difficult as the public comments. The Chinese are making it clear that after the Trump years, Beijing wants a return to Obama’s policies to align with China’s global progress.

This means weak objections to cyber and intellectual property theft in China. It means ending US policy of building an alliance of democracies in Asia that counter Chinese aggression. Above all, it means ending criticism or sanctions against China for violating its treaty with Britain over Hong Kong, threatening an invasion of Taiwan, or imprisoning Uighers in Xinjiang’s re-education camps.

In the first two months, the Biden administration was strong in its rhetoric on all of this. Mr. Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan hosted a series of well-executed meetings with Indo-Pacific allies ahead of the Anchorage meeting. They also struck a deal to fund the deployment of US troops in South Korea.

But the real challenge will be how well it responds to the aggressive plans of opponents in Beijing, Moscow and Tehran. The tough men in these capitals remember how to progress when Mr. Biden were last in power under Mr. Obama. Russia seized Crimea, invaded Eastern Ukraine, and entered Syria. China snatched islands from military bases in the South China Sea and stole American secrets with impunity. Iran spread proxy terrorism throughout the Middle East and condemned John Kerry over the nuclear deal.

These regional powers are looking to see if this new US administration is Obama II. Tehran’s renewed courtship to return to the flawed 2015 nuclear deal is a sign of weakness. Vladimir Putin will certainly take action against US interests in response to Mr. Biden last week when asked if the Russian is a “murderer”.

The biggest test will be China’s growing confidence that it has a strategic advantage over a declining America. If you don’t believe that, read Mr. Yang in Anchorage. The thinking of the powers in Beijing today is no different from that of the Soviet Union in the 1970s, when the American decline was in vogue and the communists tried to advance around the world. Except that China has much more economic strength these days.

Taiwan’s future is perhaps its most fraught challenge. As a location for global semiconductor manufacturing, the island is critical to US economic interests and a democratic ally. Chinese President Xi Jinping has made it clear that retaking Taiwan is a priority, and the Chinese military is building a force capable of a rapid invasion. Mr. Xi will be eager to exchange climate change pledges for US agreement with Taiwan.

This is a dangerous moment as the world’s rogue states try to test the resolve of the Biden government. The Anchorage lecture is a warning to take seriously.