Era of Engagement With China Is Over, Says Kurt Campbell: Biden’s Top Man in Asia

 

The United States is entering a period of intense competition with China as the world's second-largest economy is tightly controlled by President Xi Jinping, a White House chief executive in Asia said on Wednesday.

"The time has come to be widely described as participatory," said Kurt Campbell, the U.S. Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs at the National Security Council, at an event held at Stanford University. U.S. policy Towards China it will now operate under "new borders," Campbell said, adding that "the most dominant process will be competition."

China's policies under Xi primarily address U.S. policy changes, Campbell said, citing military conflicts on the China-India border, an "economic campaign" against Australia and an increase in China's "wolf warrior" negotiations. Beijing's behavior was a signal of a change in "strong, or strong," "to show that China is determined to play a strong role," he said.

Campbell's explicit remarks came as President Joe Biden said he had instructed the US intelligence community to "repeat" their efforts to determine the origin of the Covid-19 virus, after controversial tests whether its origin was natural or caused by a laboratory accident in China.

The move is likely to anger Beijing officials, who have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the city of Wuhan. Biden in a statement on Wednesday said Chinese officials needed clarification, and urged Beijing to join "an international investigation based on evidence and provide access to all relevant information and evidence."

The origins of Covid-19 are just one part of the controversial and difficult U.S. relationship. These include disputes over Beijing's claims over the South China Sea, human rights in the Xinjiang region, the future of Taiwan and Hong Kong and economic concerns including the introduction of 5G technology and a global shortage of educators.

Chinese and American officials have said they see areas of cooperation, especially in climate change, but in many cases the relationship has been severely strained.

Campbell knows exactly what it's like to negotiate with angry Chinese lawyers. In March he was among U.S. officials. They met with their Chinese counterparts in Alaska for talks that began with a riot in front of journalists and cameras over human rights, trade and international relations.
'Unthinking' Xi

President Xi, says Campbell, is at the center of a new U.S. relationship. In China. He described Xi as "a man of deep conviction but also very unwilling," adding that the Chinese leader was "not interested in the economy."

Since taking over the reins of government in 2012, Xi has "almost completely divided nearly 40 years of coalition-based processes," said Campbell, adding that top Chinese strategists such as Politburo member Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi - top officials sent to Alaska talks - "nowhere near, within 100 kilometers" in China's inner circle of leaders.
Chinese President Xi Jinping Attends Macao SAR 20th Anniversary

Xi Jinping

The Allies will be part of the U.S. effort. The retreat is facing China in the coming years, Campbell said. The U.S. It has already tried to build on the importance of its work within a group called Quad countries, including India, Japan and Australia. And Biden's first meetings at the White House with foreign heads were attended by Joshihide Suga of Japan and Moon Jae-in of South Korea.

"We believe that the best way to engage China in this partnership is to work with partners, partners and friends," Campbell said, adding that "China's best policy is Asia's best policy." However, he said the U.S. It will need to allay fears of an American decline in Asia and provide a “positive economic perspective” for the region.

"For the first time, in fact, we are now shifting our strategic focus, our economic interests, our more military power to the Indo-Pacific," Campbell said.