Beijing uses “coercion and bad faith” methods in trade.

This is stated in the program of trade policy of US President Joe Biden.

The US administration claims that such actions by the Chinese side "harm American workers" and also threaten the "technical advantage" of the United States, weaken the resilience of supply chains and undermine America's national interests.

“Addressing the Chinese issue will require a comprehensive strategy and a more systematic approach than the isolated measures taken in the recent past,” the document says.

Among the "harmful practices" of the PRC, the authors of the document call China's restriction of market access through duties and non-tariff barriers, "government-sanctioned forced labor programs", "excess capacity" in numerous sectors, industrial policy using "unfair subsidies and giving preference to import substitution" as well as export subsidies.

“They (practices. -

RT

) also include forced transfer of technology, illegal acquisition of American intellectual property and infringement of intellectual property rights, censorship and other restrictions on the Internet and the digital economy;

and the attitude towards American companies in various market sectors in China, which is strikingly different from the attitude towards Chinese firms in the corresponding market sectors in the United States, ”the program says.

  • © REUTERS / Yilei Sun

The document also provides a detailed overview of the previous relations between the United States and China in the trade and economic field.

The efforts made in this area by the previous US administration, culminating in the conclusion of the first phase of the trade deal in January 2020, are mentioned.

As part of the agreement, Beijing pledged to increase imports of American products.

Strategic rivalry

Although Donald Trump predicted during the election race that if he won the election, Joe Biden would not defend American interests in relations with China, in practice these predictions did not come true.

The new US administration is in no hurry to lift the tariff restrictions imposed by Trump and echoes the rhetoric of its predecessors about the Chinese threat.

Thus, the new US representative in trade negotiations, Catherine Tai, supported the use of such instruments in relations with the PRC.

She stated this, speaking at the end of February in front of the US Senate.

  • US Trade Representative Catherine Tai

  • Reuters

At a Senate confirmation hearing on her candidacy as the US Trade Representative, Tai also called for an update to global trade rules to eliminate what she called “gray areas” exploited by China.

Joe Biden himself spoke openly about the need to confront Beijing.

Speaking at the Munich conference in February, the head of the White House declared the need to rebuff China's "abuses" in the economic sphere.

“You know, we must all prepare together for a long-term strategic rivalry with China ... We need to fight back the economic abuse and coercion that the Chinese government is using to undermine the foundations of the international economic system.

Everyone - absolutely everyone - must follow the same rules, ”the politician emphasized.  

Washington seeks to involve its allies in the anti-Chinese front.

In February, White House chief Joe Biden announced that the US and Canada had agreed to jointly "improve their competitiveness" with China.

The statement came after the meeting of the American leader with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a remote format.

The statement on the need to resist Beijing is also contained in the roadmap for a renewed partnership between the United States and Canada, the document is published on the White House website.

Simple practice

Recall that the issue of confronting the PRC was put in the spotlight by Joe Biden's predecessor as president of the United States.

Donald Trump has made the fight against Beijing in the trade and economic sphere one of the key elements of his foreign policy.

The White House was particularly concerned about the deficit in the US trade balance in the structure of trade with China.

To turn the tide, the Trump administration has launched a trade war with China.

In 2018, the American side raised duties up to 25% on imports of over 800 items of Chinese products worth $ 34 billion a year.

This policy led to a reduction in the US trade deficit, but the dominance of Chinese exports still persisted.

At the end of 2019, the imbalance amounted to $ 345 billion, while a year earlier this figure was about $ 419 billion. 

  • Donald Trump

  • © REUTERS / Octavio Jones

By early 2020, Beijing and Washington were able to negotiate a trade deal.

As part of the first phase of the agreement, China pledged to increase the import of American goods by a total of $ 200 billion over two years.

However, this did not put an end to the confrontation between China and the United States and did not lead to a warming in relations between the countries.

On the contrary, the 45th President of the United States found a new reason for criticizing Beijing - Donald Trump has publicly accused China of the 2020 cornavirus pandemic more than once.

Trump also continued to talk about the US dependence on Chinese industry. 

The fact that the new American administration has continued the course begun before it towards China does not surprise experts.

As a senior researcher at the Higher School of Economics Vasily Kashin noted in a commentary on RT, Trump's policy towards Beijing was not his personal whim, he relied on a broad consensus of the political elite and deep assessments made during the years of Barack Obama's presidency.

“Only the style of implementation of these decisions depended on Trump, but in fact everything was calculated long ago.

The Trump administration has begun to implement this strategy in a rather chaotic manner.

Now Joe Biden will continue the same course in a more orderly form, systematically, ”the expert explained.

According to Kashin, the accusations made by the American leadership against China can be addressed in the same way to other countries.

“Any normal country tries to trade as dishonestly as possible without devastating consequences.

China defended its market, used the scale of its market to force foreigners to transfer technology.

This is a normal practice, all countries do this.

Western countries went through this stage of formation decades ago, and China is going through it now, ”added Vasily Kashin.

  • Joe Biden and Xi Jinping

  • © REUTERS / Lintao Zhang

A similar point of view is shared by Alexander Belchuk, professor of the Department of World and National Economy of the All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade.

“There is competition from China, and it is dangerous for the United States.

But this is a normal phenomenon, this is how the laws of the world market economy operate.

In world history, in different periods, the leading countries have repeatedly changed, Holland, Spain became the leaders, and then, for example, Great Britain, "the expert noted in a commentary on RT.

According to Alexander Belchuk, China is acting in accordance with the principles of a market economy, accusations of abuse are groundless.

“It's just that China began to create problems for the United States, began to interfere with American interests,” the expert added.

Leap into the future

According to experts, over the past decades, China has been able to achieve colossal achievements in the economy.

By 2050, the Chinese leadership plans to build a society of "prosperity", the standard of living in which will be equal to that of developed countries.

Beijing pays great attention to the development of knowledge-intensive industries such as automotive, shipbuilding, etc.

However, China has already managed to overcome poverty, said the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping in February 2021.

  • © REUTERS / Aly Song

Earlier, the successful experience of China in eradicating poverty was noted by the World Bank Country Director Martin Raiser.

According to him, the PRC accounts for three quarters of the global poverty reduction.

As Vasily Kashin explained, China used fairly obvious measures to develop the economy.

“Beijing has chosen a number of promising areas of industry and technology, subsidized them for decades, provided them with an advantage in the domestic market, helped to enter the foreign market.

The authorities also forced foreign companies operating in the country to share technologies, ”the expert noted.

When the United States realized that China was starting to move forward in a number of areas, it aroused the alarm of the American elites.

“China's growth threatens the position of American companies in the global marketplace.

Therefore, the US wants to stop this growth.

It is already clear that the emphasis will be on the creation of anti-Chinese alliances, and the sanctions policy will continue.

Washington will continue to put pressure on Beijing, ”Kashin said.

Alexander Belchuk adheres to a similar point of view.

“The United States still retains its technological leadership, ahead of China, although not in all areas.

In the next 10-20 years, the United States will retain the advantage.

However, during this time, the Chinese economy will grow 3-4 times, the economic leadership of the PRC will become obvious, ”the expert noted.

Therefore, the United States is afraid of competition from China and is trying to slow down its development, Alexander Belchuk added.

“But although China is deeply involved in the world market, it is trying to isolate itself from possible attacks from the West.

Therefore, the United States is unlikely to be able to stop the growth of China, they can only slightly slow down the pace of its development, ”the expert summed up.