"US Has No Plans to Resume Strategic and Economic Talks with China"

Bloomberg "Biden Unlikely to Resume Strategic Dialogue Halted During Trump Era"
US Continues Pressure on China with Xinjiang Product Import Ban and Trade Restrictions

Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] As the United States strengthens pressure on China by expanding import bans on products made in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, it has been reported that there are no plans to resume strategic and economic dialogues with China. With the economic talks between the two countries, which were suspended during the Donald Trump administration, expected to remain halted under the Joe Biden administration, concerns are rising that the conflict between the two nations will not be easily resolved.

Bloomberg News reported on the 14th (local time), citing sources, that Janet Yellen, U.S. Treasury Secretary, has no plans to resume the U.S.-China strategic and economic dialogue that was suspended during the Trump administration.

This is interpreted as reflecting the Biden administration’s intention to continue pressuring China.

Earlier, Secretary Yellen criticized China for endangering the rules-based international order established after World War II, along with Russia and others.

Furthermore, the Biden administration’s pressure on China appears to be spreading recently into the private sector.

On the 13th, the Biden administration strongly warned U.S. companies to disengage from transactions and investments related to forced labor and human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region.

There are also reports that the Biden administration will issue an alert to U.S. companies this week regarding business risks in Hong Kong.

Last month, the U.S. government partially banned imports of polysilicon, a key material for solar panels produced in Xinjiang, China, and on the 14th, the Senate passed a bill banning all imports of products from Xinjiang.

The Biden administration states that these measures are in response to China’s recent hostile actions.

Bloomberg also noted that U.S.-China relations have continuously deteriorated since the Biden administration took office, which may come as a surprise to those who expected a softer approach than the Trump administration.

The news agency mentioned recent warnings related to Xinjiang by the Biden administration and the review of digital trade agreements aimed at countering China in the Indo-Pacific region, stating that these clearly show the administration is extending or even intensifying Trump’s confrontational approach toward China.

As relations between the two countries continue to worsen, concerns are growing that economic decoupling between the U.S. and China will deepen.

Former U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus said, "We are not trying to find a proper and cautious way to deal with China, which is a mistake," adding, "The more we head toward decoupling, the greater the risk that problems will become more serious."

Meanwhile, the U.S.-China strategic and economic dialogue began in 2006 during President George W. Bush’s administration and was held biennially, then annually under the Obama administration, but was suspended by the Trump administration starting in 2018.

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