The top US official for Asia said the era of deals with China is “over.”

The United States is entering a period of intense competition with China as the Asian country is increasingly coming under the control of President Xi Jinping., He said Curt Campbell, A senior White House official for Asia.

“The period that was described as one of the agreements has expired.”Campbell, the US coordinator for Indian Ocean and Pacific affairs at the National Security Council, said Wednesday at an event hosted by Stanford University, according to Bloomberg. US policy toward China will now operate under “a new set of strategic parameters.”While adding that, the official said “The dominant model will be the competition.”.

Xi Jinping’s Chinese policies are largely responsible for the change in US policyCiting the military clashes on China’s border with India, Campbell said it was an “economic campaign” against Australia and the emergence of “warrior wolf” diplomacy. Beijing’s behavior was A symbol of a shift toward “hard power,” which “indicates that China is determined to play a more assertive role.”, He said.

These comments were one of several signs New tensions between the two countriesEven when he’s the US Trade Representative, Kathryn TyeAnd Vice Premier of China, Liu HeeThey had their first phone conversation. Tay told the news agency before the talks Reuters What or what Both sides faced “very significant challenges”. And the American President, Joe BidenShe announced that she had ordered the CIA B. It is “doubling down” its efforts to determine whether the coronavirus has escaped from the Chinese laboratory.

Biden said in a statement Wednesday that Chinese officials need to be more transparent and Beijing join “an evidence-based international investigation and provide access to all relevant data and evidence.”. The Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the investigation, describing it as a “smear campaign and the sharing of blame.” That would hurt efforts to prevent health crises in the future, according to Bloomberg.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao LegianAt a press conference Thursday in Beijing, it is indicated that the two countries “They win by cooperation and lose by confrontation.”.

“Of course, there will be some competition in China-US relationsIt is a frequent matter in the relationships of other important countries, but it is wrong to define the relationship with competition, because it will only lead to confrontation and conflict.

The two countries also have differences over Beijing’s claims on the South China Sea, human rights in Xinjiang, the future of Taiwan and Hong Kong, and economic concerns, including the deployment of 5G technology and global semiconductor shortages.. Chinese and US officials said they see areas for cooperation, especially on climate change, but the relationship between many other issues is cooler.

“The idea of ​​the United States’ commitment has conditions and consists in integrating China into its system, not only economically but also politically.”Sure Wang YueDirector of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University and a former Chinese diplomat. “The United States believes that China is superior to its economy, so it seeks to contain it and prevent it from moving up the value chain.”He added, according to Bloomberg.

Campbell understands what it means to negotiate with Chinese diplomats. Last March, one of the American officials who met his Chinese counterparts in Alaska was in talks that got off to a difficult start, with disagreements in front of journalists and cameras about Human rights, trade and international alliances.

Campbell said Xi Jinping is the focus of the new US approach to relations with China. He described the Chinese president as Deeply ideological, but also completely unemotional. And “terribly uninterested in the economy.”

Since coming to power in 2012, he has taken over the president Nearly 40 years of the mechanisms designed for collective leadership have been dismantled.Campbell said, adding that top Chinese diplomats, like a Politburo member, Yang JiechiAnd the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang YiThey are not “close” to the Asian leader’s inner circle.

The allies will be crucial in America’s efforts to engage with China in the coming years.Campbell stated. The Americans have already tried to increase the importance of their work within the so-called Quartet., Which includes India, Japan and Australia. Biden’s first meetings were in the White House with foreign heads of state with the Japanese. Yoshihide Suga and South Korea Moon Jae-in.

“We believe the best way to confront a more assertive China is to work with allies, partners and friends.”Campbell stated, with the addition of that “The best policy toward China is really good policy toward Asia.”. However, he said the United States should allay fears of a US pullback in Asia and provide a “positive economic outlook” for the region.

“For the first time, in fact, we are shifting our strategic focus, our economic interests, and our military capacity more toward the Indo-Pacific.”Campbell finished.

(With information from Bloomberg)

Read on: