China: China’s connections are starting to improve with Japan, India and other countries that former US President Joe Biden courted, only as Donald Trump brings his more unilateralist view back to the White House.
The change of leadership in Washington on Monday ( Jan 20 ) could be an opportunity for China, which has long railed against Biden’s strategy of building partnerships with “like-minded countries ” aimed at countering its growing influence.
Biden reinvigorated a gathering known as the Quad- the United States, India, Japan and Australia. China’s relationships with all three of those US colleagues are improving, while are its relations with Britain. The strength of Biden’s reputation is now in question. During his first term, Trump did n’t dare to challenge traditional US lovers.
“It is possible that Trump may drift away from US allies, making them pay more attention to China ’s role and in fact it has provided a chance for China ’s diplomacy, ” said Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. “ I think we may understand the prospect. ”
But US National Security Council director Brian Hughes said that Trump “has a record of rallying the planet toward a more aggressive approach with China”. Trump agreed to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific approach that Japan introduced during his first name and backed excluding Chinese firms from telecom network in the US and many of its companions.
And on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio– days after he was sworn in – met with the foreign ministers of Australia, India and Japan in Washington, a shift that suggested engaging the Quad countries and countering China ’s control may be a priority for Trump.