The first summit between Biden and Xi .. the most prominent differences between the United States and China

WASHINGTON

- US President Joe Biden believes that intense competition with China requires intense diplomacy, and Biden has made clear on several occasions that he welcomes intense competition with China despite the deep divisions between the two countries.

But despite these deep divisions between the two countries, Biden makes it a priority to maintain open lines of communication with Beijing.

Washington and Beijing have recently sought to highlight their cooperation on issues where the two countries' interests converge, and this cooperation translated into general agreement last week at the COP24 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Chinese and American delegations announced a surprising joint agreement to set new goals to reduce fossil fuel consumption;

Together, the two countries are responsible for more than 35% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change is one of the few issues that Washington and Beijing can agree on, at a time when the two sides are at odds on many global issues.

On the other hand, the emerging Corona virus pandemic and its accelerating repercussions during the past twenty months have pushed the two countries’ relations to more crisis, against the backdrop of Washington’s accusation of Beijing of covering up information on the origin of the virus.

From day one in office, President Biden has placed confronting China at the center of his economic and strategic agenda, as the greatest challenge of this era.

The virtual summit that brings together Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss a number of contentious issues, some of which began during the rule of former President Donald Trump.

The militarization of the Taiwan crisis

For more than 7 decades, the Chinese Communist Party has threatened to invade Taiwan, and now fears are growing among analysts, officials and investors that the party will carry out its threat over the next few years, which could lead to a war with America.

Because of the tensions related to Taiwan, which have recently doubled, many observers fear a catastrophic scenario in which China invades the island, and the United States will have to intervene, which threatens to ignite a war between the two major powers in today's world.

In recent weeks, Beijing has sent 150 military planes to the air defense zone adjacent to Taiwan's airspace, and Chinese President Xi Jinping - later - said that he would complete the "historic mission" of reunifying the island with China "by peaceful means". Xi Jinping earlier refused to rule out military action.

In response to a question in an interview with CNN about whether his country would intervene militarily if China launched an attack on Taiwan, Biden replied, "Yes, we have an obligation to do so."

Then, Taiwan President Ing-wen confirmed the presence of US forces in her country.

The South China Sea and Washington's New Alliances

Washington rejects all Chinese measures in the South China Sea. The US position represents a major turning point in Washington's policy towards Beijing, whereby the United States is no longer a neutral player in China's dispute with its neighbors participating in the South China Sea, such as Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. and Indonesia.

Beijing claims large swathes of the South China Sea, including the Paracel Islands, which are often a source of concern, and conducts frequent military exercises in the region.

The Biden administration has decided to treat Beijing's pursuit of resources in the disputed South China Sea as illegal.

The United States is responding to what it sees as a Chinese escalation by carrying out military war games with the participation of aircraft carriers in the South China Sea, and the Ministry of Defense (the Pentagon) says that "these efforts support the United States' permanent commitments to defend the right of all countries to fly, sail and work anywhere permitted. international law," referring to Washington's willingness and intention to defend its allies.

Then came the announcement of the tripartite security agreement between Washington, London and Canberra - and the related construction of dozens of nuclear-powered submarines - to raise more tension in the relations of the two countries.

This was followed by the founding meeting of the US-led quadripartite bloc with Japan, India and Australia, prompting China to once again accuse the United States of waging a new cold war against it.

trade war

Although the volume of trade exchange last year reached $650 billion between the two countries, Beijing is pressing the Biden administration to cancel tariffs imposed under former President Donald Trump on more than $350 billion worth of Chinese products.

Biden has left sanctions and tariffs unchanged as he seeks to start a new round of trade talks between the two countries.

Washington is demanding that Beijing follow more equitable trade policies for the American producer and consumer, allow facilitation of exports to China, and stop subsidies directed by the Chinese government to Chinese companies.

The manipulation of the value of the Chinese currency is also a source of great tension between the two countries on the trade and economic level.

The issue of the rights of the Muslim Uyghur population

Beijing is highly critical of the global campaign - backed by the United States - to condemn the Chinese government for what Washington sees as a campaign of "re-education and rehabilitation" of the Muslim Uighur minority.

The practices of the Chinese authorities include forced labor, the mass imprisonment of more than a million people in segregated camps, and the alleged sterilization of Uyghur women.

And last March, Washington and its allies imposed sanctions on several officials in Xinjiang, and US Secretary of State Tony Blinken described the treatment of Uighurs in China as a "genocide."

Congress issued several sanctions targeting Chinese officials involved in human rights violations, and both houses of Congress (senators and representatives) passed sanctions resolutions on China with almost unanimity.

cyber technology conflict

The Trump administration developed plans and regulations - and the Biden administration maintained them - prohibiting the US government from buying goods or services from any company that uses the products of 5 Chinese companies, led by Huawei.

Washington considers the Chinese technology giant to be nothing but a spy tool for the Chinese state.