Strongmen Silent on Biden's Election... Contemplating Reestablishing Relations with the US

No Congratulatory Message from Xi Jinping, Putin on Biden's Election Win
US Foreign Policy Experts Say Biden's Rise Makes It Harder to Secure Practical Gains
Biden: "Russia is America's Greatest Threat"...Putin Likely to Face Prolonged Deliberation

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] While Western leaders, including those from major European countries, have been sending congratulatory messages to President-elect Joe Biden, the so-called 'strongman' leaders of the international community, who have previously showcased bromance with President Donald Trump, remain silent. In particular, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who referred to Biden as a 'major threat to the United States,' and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has been criticized as a rogue actor violating international norms, appear to be contemplating how to respond, facing a more challenging opponent than Trump. The prevailing analysis is that with Biden, a top expert in diplomacy who has served as chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as Vice President, it will be impossible to leverage personal friendships for practical gains as Trump, a diplomatic novice, did.

According to foreign media such as CNN, as of the 9th, the Chinese government has not issued an official statement even two days after the U.S. election results were announced. Russia has also shown no official response or congratulatory message for President-elect Biden. Previously, rulers of China, Russia, Turkey, and Brazil?often called strongmen?who flaunted personal friendships with President Trump have all refrained from official comments. Only Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an exception by posting a congratulatory message on Twitter, emphasizing that Senator Kamala Harris’s mother is of Indian descent.

The silence of the strongmen is presumed to stem from concerns that U.S. pressure on their countries will intensify after Biden takes office. Last month, during a town hall event with ABC, Biden criticized President Trump for "embracing all the world's thugs," labeling strongmen such as President Putin, President Xi Jinping, and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un as thugs.

China, which has already been at odds with the Trump administration, appears unsettled by the rise of Biden, an expert who has met with every Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping in 1979, unlike Trump, a diplomatic novice. Biden first met Deng Xiaoping in 1979 as part of a U.S. Senate delegation, then met President Jiang Zemin in 2001 as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, followed by meetings with Hu Jintao in 2011 and Xi Jinping in 2013 while serving as Vice President.

Earlier, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 7th, when Biden’s election victory was confirmed, that Biden’s China policy would be more challenging than Trump’s. Su Yinghong, a China expert at the Chinese Academy of International Relations at Renmin University, warned, "The U.S. will strengthen alliances to pressure China through containment and isolation," adding, "The U.S. and its allies will close the gaps that emerged during the Trump administration, so China will face greater challenges." In China, while the U.S.-China trade dispute is expected to be less severe than during the Trump administration, there are concerns that security issues related to the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, as well as human rights issues in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Tibet, will face stronger attacks from the Biden administration.

Russia, which Biden views as a major threat to the U.S., is even more tense. President Putin issued a congratulatory statement immediately upon Trump’s election, but this year has made no such announcement. According to The New York Times (NYT), Putin is perceived to regard Biden as an adversary. Russian analyst Sergey Markov told the NYT in an interview, "Putin expects a deeply hostile relationship with President-elect Biden and is preparing for it."

However, some believe that because there are many issues requiring negotiation between the U.S. and Russia, the relationship will not be entirely antagonistic. The political media outlet Politico projected that the Biden administration would not label Russia as an enemy and attack it outright, given ongoing issues such as the extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), Russian interference in U.S. elections, and the Iran nuclear deal, all of which have been matters of concern since the Trump administration.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is also expected to face U.S. pressure on Middle East issues such as Syria intervention, the acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, and territorial disputes with Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean. This is because the Biden administration has announced plans to restore Atlantic diplomacy, which was shaken under Trump, likely intensifying pressure from the European Union (EU) and NATO.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.