China State Media Says Biden’s Early Policy ‘Smacks of Trumpism’

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...y-policy-smacks-of-trumpism?srnd=premium-asia

Bloomberg News, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- Chinese state media said President Joe Biden’s early policy toward Beijing “smacks of Trumpism,” signaling new concern over the prospects for a reset in ties with the U.S.

The official China Daily said in an editorial Thursday that the Biden administration’s approach so far “affords little optimism.” Many of the new U.S. leader’s policies seem similar to those of former President Donald Trump, according to the English-language newspaper, whose opinion pages are often used to send messages to foreign audiences.

The piece cited Biden’s comments last week at the Munich Security Conference, where he said: “We have to push back against the Chinese government’s economic abuses and coercion that undercut the foundations of the international economic system.”

Also singled out were comments this week by Biden’s nominee to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. William Burns said at a confirmation hearing this week before the Senate Intelligence Committee that China’s “adversarial, predatory leadership” is the biggest threat to the U.S.

“Such incendiary remarks harp on the same tune as that heard from the previous administration, and are centered on a zero-sum mentality which sees China’s gain as the U.S.’ loss,” the China Daily said. “Such messages from Washington are unhelpful for the rebuilding of a sound and healthy bilateral relationship.”

The Trump administration’s four years were marked by tough rhetoric and tensions with China on issues from trade and tech to human rights and political freedoms in Hong Kong. The two nations engaged in sometimes testy tit-for-tat exchanges, such as when they both ordered consulate closures.

While Chinese diplomats have expressed hope that ties would improve after Biden’s election win in November, they also argue that Washington is solely responsible for the deterioration in relations. China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said Monday in Beijing that the U.S. should “build up goodwill,” by ending tariffs, sanctions, visa restrictions and the “irrational suppression” of China’s technological progress.

“Biden has claimed that China will ‘eat our lunch,’ but that is not the case, it wants to eat lunch together,” the editorial said Thursday. “Nor does China seek to challenge or replace the U.S. in terms of economic and geopolitical dominance.”
 
Fuk China. If Biden IS pushing back, great on him. But I saw the "Chinese president told me committing genocide on the Chinese Muslims will make China stronger... and I get that... and they have different cultural norms there" speech, and WHOLLY FUK that was unbelievable. Other than the people that have actually committed genocide has anyone ever blessed genocide for such a freaking UNBELIEVABLE reason? Jesus Christ. That was the complete opposite of being hard on China. Hopefully he is doing it elsewhere...
 
Fuk China. If Biden IS pushing back, great on him. But I saw the "Chinese president told me committing genocide on the Chinese Muslims will make China stronger... and I get that... and they have different cultural norms there" speech, and WHOLLY FUK that was unbelievable. Other than the people that have actually committed genocide has anyone ever blessed genocide for such a freaking UNBELIEVABLE reason? Jesus Christ. That was the complete opposite of being hard on China. Hopefully he is doing it elsewhere...

holy context Batman:

“I point out to him no American president can be sustained as a president, if he doesn’t reflect the values of the United States,” the US president continued. “And so the idea that I am not going to speak out against what he’s doing in Hong Kong, what he’s doing with the Uighurs in western mountains of China and Taiwan — trying to end the one China policy by making it forceful … [Xi] gets it.”

“Culturally there are different norms that each country and their leaders are expected to follow,” he continued.

Asked during the town hall whether there would be repercussions for the CCP over the genocide, Biden sidestepped the question, saying the US would “reassert our role as spokespersons for human rights at the UN and other agencies.”

“Well, there will be repercussions for China and [Xi] knows that. What I’m doing is, making clear that we, in fact, are going to continue to reassert our role as spokespersons for human rights at the UN and other agencies that have an impact on their attitude,” he said.

Meanwhile:
upload_2021-2-26_8-15-36.png

https://www.axios.com/trump-uighur-muslims-sanctions-d4dc86fc-17f4-42bd-bdbd-c30f4d2ffa21.html

Exclusive: Trump held off on Xinjiang sanctions for China trade deal

In an Oval Office interview on Friday afternoon,President Trump told me that he held off on imposing Treasury sanctions against Chinese officials involved with the Xinjiang mass detention camps because doing so would have interfered with his trade deal with Beijing.

Driving the news: Asked why he hadn't yet enacted Treasury sanctions against Chinese Communist Party officials or entities tied to the camps where the Chinese government detains Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, Trump replied, "Well, we were in the middle of a major trade deal."

  • "And I made a great deal, $250 billion potentially worth of purchases. And by the way, they're buying a lot, you probably have seen."
  • Trump continued: "And when you're in the middle of a negotiation and then all of a sudden you start throwing additional sanctions on — we've done a lot. I put tariffs on China, which are far worse than any sanction you can think of."
The big picture: China hawks in the Trump administration have privately expressed frustration that the president hasn't used the Global Magnitsky Act to sanction Chinese officials for what many consider one of the worst human rights atrocities of this era.

Between the lines: But that new law is Congress' attempt to pressure Trump to enact sanctions. Trump already had all the authority he needed to sanction China for the camps. Congress passed the Global Magnitsky Act in 2016 — a law designed to counter human rights violations like those being committed in Xinjiang, where witnesses say the Chinese government imprisons, brainwashes, and tortures ethnic and religious minorities.

  • China hawks in Congress, such as Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, have repeatedly urged the Trump administration to sanction Chinese officials connected to the Xinjiang mass detention camps.
But in Friday's interview with Axios, Trump said: "When you say the Magnitsky Act, just so you know, nobody's mentioned it specifically to me with regard to China."

  • "If somebody asked me, I would take a look at it," he continued. "But nobody's asked me. I have not been spoken to about the Magnitsky Act. So if somebody asks me about it, I'd study it. But at this moment, they have not asked me about it."
  • In his book, John Bolton writes that Trump gave President Xi a green light to continue with the Xinjiang camps — an allegation Trump denies.
The other side: While the Treasury Department hasn't taken action with Magnitsky sanctions — which would allow the U.S. government to take harsh measures such as seizing the U.S. dollar assets of targeted Chinese officials — other departments of the Trump administration have taken concrete steps to penalize China for the human rights crisis in Xinjiang.

  • Since September 2019, the Commerce Department and the State Department have imposed export restrictions on a total of 21 Chinese government entities and 16 Chinese companies deemed complicit in the abuses in Xinjiang.
  • And the State Department has imposed visa restrictions on Chinese Communist Party officials deemed responsible for the abuse of Uighurs. Additionally, the U.S. has taken minor steps to stop the import of goods produced by Uighur forced labor.
  • A senior administration said he believes the U.S. government is the only government in the world that has imposed actual costs on China for the Xinjiang situation.
I also asked President Trump whether — as Bolton charges — he asked President Xi to increase China's farm purchases from the U.S. to help Trump win in 2020. Bolton claims Trump made the request when the leaders met in Buenos Aires in December 2018.

  • "No, not at all," Trump said. "What I told everybody we deal with — not just President Xi — I want them to do business with this country. I want them to do a lot more business with this country."
  • "By the way, what's good for the country is good for me," Trump continued. "What's good for the country is also good for an election."
  • "But I don't go around saying, 'Oh, help me with my election.' Why would I say that?"
  • "And remember, when I'm dealing with him, the whole room is loaded up with people. We're in a large room with many people in that room. I wouldn't want to say a thing like that. I don't even know if that would be wrong because, you know, but why would I say a thing like that? And I certainly wouldn't say it anyway, but I certainly wouldn't say it in a room full of people."
 
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