Soaring tensions around the G7 and Micron show the limits of the US-China reset

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Joe Biden’s prediction of an impending “thaw” in US-China relations was quickly followed by a reminder of the tension that still exists between Washington and Beijing.

Hours after the US president’s remarks at the end of a G7 summit in Japan on Sunday, China ordered some of its infrastructure companies to stop buying from US chipmaker Micron.

He underlined the major challenges to the stabilization US-China relations at the end of a summit in Hiroshima where Biden and other advanced economy leaders issued their harshest criticism of Beijing – while acknowledging the need to cooperate with China.

THE summit statement sparked an angry reaction from Beijing, which summoned Japan’s ambassador to China to protest.

Chinese foreign policy experts said the G7 statement – ​​which also showed the success of the United States and Japan in persuading European countries such as Germany and France to take a tougher stance against China – would complicate more relationships.

“The G7 communiqué points the finger at China in all its dimensions,” said Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. This “would make China even less willing to cooperate with the G7 to solve the issues that concern them”, Wu added.

For months, Washington and Beijing have struggled to follow through on an agreement reached between Biden and President Xi Jinping at a meeting in Indonesia in November to set a “floor” on the relationship. Chinese spy balloon detected over US this year – that Biden called Sunday a “stupid ball” – led Washington to cancel a visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan insisted on Saturday that the G7 conclusions would not affect efforts to postpone Blinken’s trip or agree on possible visits by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Chinese experts in the United States have also said that while the G7’s criticism of China would be unwelcome in Beijing, it would not derail all efforts to revive high-level engagement.

Dennis Wilder, a former CIA China analyst and White House official, said he believed Xi would still pursue “tactical efforts” to try to achieve what was discussed with Biden. “It needs a stable international environment in which the United States and its allies do not decouple their economies from China or take steps to move Taiwan toward independence,” Wilder said.

A potential axis is the economy. “The Chinese seem to want to engage in an effort to stabilize US-China relations. . . partly because of worries about the economy,” said Bonnie Glaser, China expert at the German Marshall Fund. But she warned that China was “picking cherries” on the officials she would meet.

A first test will come this week when Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is expected to become the first senior Chinese official to visit Washington since 2020. Wang is due to meet US Trade Representative Katherine Tai at a trade meeting from APEC to Detroit and then to Washington. meet Raimondo.

In a positive sign from China, its nationalist tabloid Global Times said over the weekend that Wang’s meetings showed both sides “recognize the importance of economic and trade relations”.

A US official said Wang’s visit was “a little ‘m’ of momentum as we all find our place.”

While Wang’s meetings in the United States and possible visits to China by Yellen and Raimondo could help ease trade tensions, experts said the rifts in relations between the two countries were now much more focused on issues. national security related to technology, economic coercion and tension. on Taiwan.

A former US official has warned that the latest strain on Micron – which the Beijing regulator said posed security risks – would have serious repercussions for US-China relations.

“Chinese leaders must understand that this action will make it impossible to stabilize relations, and the attempt to kill Micron will lead to much stronger and far-reaching decoupling actions from the Biden administration and the US Congress,” he said. -he declares.

As the United States and China want to mend their relationship — even though they were unable to agree on terms for high-level meetings and a possible call between Biden and Xi — some experts Americans and Chinese wonder if a high-level engagement will have much impact given that Washington and Beijing seem determined to maintain policies that the other opposes.

Wu said he didn’t have “high expectations” of much progress, saying the 2024 US presidential election and Biden’s candidacy meant politics would drive Washington’s China agenda.

Zhao Hai, dean of the National Institute of Global Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences government think tank, added that there was a serious lack of trust. He cited the example of the United States targeting China with export controls shortly after Biden and Xi met in Indonesia.

“Even if we continue to communicate, there are no fruits, there are no results,” Zhao said. “Now it’s our turn to want to see results.”