Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping did not mention the United States during the CPC’s 20th National Congress this week. But his message was clear: Beijing will double down on Western threats, including those to Taiwan.
“We are not committed to abandoning the use of force and reserve the option to take all necessary measures,” Xi said, criticizing “serious provocations by external forces interfering in Taiwan.”
The US Congress is considering the Taiwan Policy Act, a bill aimed at boosting the military capability of the self-governing island, which Beijing considers a breakaway province, against a possible Chinese invasion.
Xi’s speech and CPC congress report noted that China is facing increasing external threats and is entering a period “in which strategic opportunities, risks and challenges are concurrent.”
As the CCP congress consolidates a more assertive foreign policy under Xi, who will remain in power for an extraordinary third term, the country is facing a collision with a Biden administration that, in turn, would be pressured to be even tougher on China if Republicans win more seats in Congress after November’s midterm elections.
“For 50 years, the Chinese Communist Party has launched an assault on the American way of life, on our economy, on our jobs, on our businesses, on our culture, on our institutions, on our very future,” said the leader of the minority Republican Kevin McCarthy to the press in September.
If Republicans win a majority of House seats, McCarthy is likely to become the speaker.
Rep. Michael McCaul, who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s China Task Force, promised that if Republicans regain control, they would make these demands for the White House to follow.
“My priority will be to stop exporting and selling these technologies to China so they can build their own war machine that will then target us,” he told the same news conference.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced aggressive measures limiting exports of advanced semiconductor technology from the US to China, saying the technology is supporting Beijing’s military modernization.
long-term pressure
Beyond Taiwan, several Republican lawmakers have vowed to focus more on China, with the aim of getting the US to take a tougher stance on issues ranging from securing supply chains to investigating the origins of the coronavirus, to show that President Joe Biden has toughened its policies towards Beijing.
But even if Democrats maintain their slim majority in Congress, Biden’s China policy is likely to remain aggressive, upholding many of the policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump, including high tariffs on Chinese goods and containing US imports. Beijing’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.
“Under the Trump administration, the Chinese really expected the Democrats to win. But after almost two years of the Biden administration, I think the Chinese have realized that neither of us will change the consensus on China,” said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center.
“And some in China would even argue that Biden’s policy is even more difficult for China because of how Biden aligns his position and mobilizes allies and partners to jointly counter China’s growing influence,” Yun told VOA.
If Republicans retake Congress, Yun said, there will be more skepticism about Biden’s siled approach to strategically competing with China while cooperating on transnational challenges like climate change and pandemic prevention.
The approach is problematic, he said, because Beijing views its relationship with Washington as transactional. So to ensure China’s cooperation, the US must give in on issues it sees as competitive because, for Beijing, “everything is related to everything else.”
From Beijing’s point of view, whatever happens in US politics for the foreseeable future, there are no good outcomes, he said.
“Regardless of who wins this midterm election, or regardless of who wins the next presidential election in 2024, this China policy is here to stay,” he concluded.
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