"Priority target": how the US is escalating tensions with China

China strongly opposes the baseless accusations of Chinese firms by the United States.

This was stated by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC Zhao Lijian, commenting on the possibility of imposing restrictions by the United States against 89 companies of the republic due to alleged ties with the military.

“In response to reports that the United States plans to announce ties of 89 Chinese companies with the military and impose restrictions on the purchase of American goods and technologies in relation to them: China says it strongly opposes such baseless accusations against Chinese companies.

Such actions (of the United States -

) violate the principles of market competition and the rules of international trade, as well as undermine their own interests and reputation, "a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman wrote on his Twitter page on November 23.

China firmly opposes such groundless accusations against Chinese firms.

Such a move violates market competition and international trade policies, and will harm its own interests and image.

- Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@ zlj517) November 23, 2020

As Reuters reported earlier, citing documents available to the agency, the Trump administration plans to announce the ties of 89 Chinese companies, including those working in the aerospace sector, with the military and limit their ability to purchase a number of American goods and technologies. 

Reuters notes that the list of companies, if released, could further exacerbate trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, as well as damage American companies that sell parts and components of China's civil aviation and other industries.

The draft list, according to Reuters, includes firms such as Commercial Aircraft Corp.

of China, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, a number of other aircraft and related companies, and firms from other industries.

In addition, the list includes 28 Russian companies, in particular, the Irkut corporation, which produces new MC-21 short-range aircraft.

As clarified by Reuters, this list is included in the draft document, which designates a number of Chinese and Russian companies "end users of military goods."

This means that United States suppliers will have to apply for a license to sell certain products to those companies.

As the agency specifies, the list of 117 companies is "not exhaustive" and is considered "the first part".

The position of the current president

It is worth noting that on November 12, Trump signed a decree banning investments in Chinese companies associated with the military structures of the PRC.

“I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, note that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is increasingly exploiting American capital and using its resources to develop and modernize its armed forces, intelligence and other security services.

Thanks to this, the PRC continues to pose a direct threat to US territory and US forces abroad, including through the development and deployment of weapons of mass destruction, advanced conventional weapons and malicious cyber actions against the US and its people, ”the statement said.

Beijing called such a measure unreasonable and opposed this step.

This is stated in a statement by the country's Ministry of Commerce.

In August, the head of the White House even promised that he would consider the possibility of "severing" the economies of the United States and China, if he is re-elected for a second term.

• White House

• Reuters

• © Erin Scott

“No country has ripped us off more than China ... We are losing billions, hundreds of billions of dollars.

We get nothing from China.

Yes, certain goods come to us, which we ourselves could produce ... (but -

) we do not receive anything.

We only lose money, ”Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

At the same time, the American leader predicted that China would "take over" the United States if Democrat Joe Biden wins in the US presidential election.

"He (Biden. -

) is their man, and they (the Chinese authorities. -

) really want me to lose," the head of the White House said.

"Get rid of competitors"

As political analyst Alexander Asafov noted in an interview with RT, it is possible that Biden "may start looking for a compromise with China" if he is in power.

“For Trump, China was a priority target, but Biden has somewhat different views on trade with this country and the international economy in general.

Therefore, the likelihood that under Biden they will begin to negotiate with China, and not to fight, exists, "the analyst said.

According to Alexei Maslov, director of the RAS Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Biden "may cancel the sanctions measures that Trump introduced or will introduce in the near future."

“And in this case, there will be no complications in US-Chinese relations, on the contrary, the cancellation of these measures will serve as a very strong trump card for Biden in supporting his producers.

At the same time, if Trump manages to be re-elected, he will continue to consistently pursue an anti-Chinese policy.

For him, this is a matter of principle, "the expert said in a conversation with RT.

At this stage, Beijing is demonstrating that, whatever the outcome of the US presidential election, "it is ready to defend its political and business interests," Asafov said.

“Moreover, the new restrictions that Trump may impose will quite possibly create the basis for Washington's favorable negotiating positions, regardless of the administration, which will allow the United States to put forward demands to Beijing in exchange for partial or complete lifting of these sanctions.

Therefore, in this case, Biden will receive certain arguments in this discussion.

He will also have the opportunity to shift all responsibility for anti-Chinese actions onto his predecessor, ”the expert predicted.

According to Maslov, Trump's main task is "to limit China as much as possible in obtaining new technologies and in the ability to enter the high-tech market in the United States and in Western countries in general."

"And the head of the White House is not ready to abandon his strategy even when the likelihood of his departure seems clear," the analyst said.

According to Maslov, Washington, in order to "get rid of competitors, deliberately distorts the essence of the PRC's strategy, when private firms are in some form connected with government agencies, as well as the essence of the work of a number of Russian companies."

“Many large Chinese corporations and enterprises, including those dealing with defense orders, are somehow financed by the state, or are connected with state structures.

China does not hide this.

The United States views this as a violation of market competition: they say, these enterprises are not in market conditions, and American corporations cannot compete with them.

Therefore, the Trump administration is trying to ban interaction with these companies.

They apply the same principle to a number of Russian firms.

Beijing has repeatedly denied Washington's conjectures about "connections" between Chinese companies and the military, "the expert explained.

• Flags of China and USA

• Gettyimages.ru

• © Dilok Klaisataporn

According to Maslov, it is no coincidence that Trump plans to adopt restrictions immediately against Russian and Chinese companies.

“The fact is that the race for space and space orders is now, if not the main one, then it is extremely important for the future development of technologies.

And here Russia and China are acting in the same vein - discussing joint technologies and further projects.

Together, the Russian Federation and the PRC may noticeably outstrip the United States in the near future.

And the United States, of course, is afraid of this, and therefore wants to put all sorts of obstacles, "- said the analyst. 

Maslov connects new restrictions, both against Beijing and Moscow, with the fact that Washington wants to prevent the successful implementation of the Russian-Chinese project of a promising wide-body CR929 aircraft.

“The United States is extremely concerned that the aircraft of the Russian Federation and the PRC will deal a severe blow to Boing.

If the CR929 project is successfully completed, Russia and China will not depend on imports, ”the expert said.

Maslov also believes that the ban on 89 Chinese firms "will deal a serious blow not only to the business of the PRC, but also to US companies."

“In this case, American firms will lose no less economically than Chinese ones.

After all, the United States has no other large high-tech market besides China.

This will greatly harm the manufacturers of the United States, ”the analyst concluded.