China Predicts Biden's Lame Duck Period... Undermines State of the Union Address Evaluation

Avoiding Sensitive Issues Like Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong Due to China
US Supply Chain Expansion Ignores Global Division of Labor... Will Only Worsen US Inflation

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Chinese media have downplayed U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, saying his intention to cooperate with the opposition Republican Party by leveraging the Ukraine crisis has failed. They also analyzed that sensitive terms such as Taiwan, Xinjiang Uyghur, and Hong Kong were deliberately avoided to avoid provoking China.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chinese state media outlets such as Xinhua News Agency and Global Times reported that President Biden mentioned China only twice during his 62-minute first State of the Union address.

Chinese media explained that Biden refrained from using sensitive terms like Taiwan and Xinjiang when referring to China, indicating an intention not to provoke China.

Lu Xiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "The United States has no choice but to focus its full power on Russia due to the Ukraine crisis," adding that this is why sensitive terms or strong language about China were not used in this State of the Union address.

Xinhua News Agency reported that Biden proposed economic plans such as strengthening domestic (U.S.) supply chains, reducing costs, and lowering energy expenses to ease inflationary pressures in the U.S. However, it forecasted that these plans might instead increase the U.S. fiscal deficit and debt, worsening the inflation situation.

Global Times reported that Biden said, "America's transformation is the path to winning the 21st-century economic competition we face," and that "it is never a good choice for Chinese leaders to bet against the American people" during his speech.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, analyzed that the speech was aimed at rallying and persuading the domestic political arena by using China, reflecting U.S. concerns about competition with China.

Global Times emphasized that Biden's approval rating ahead of the midterm elections is only 37-41%, asserting that Biden's first year in office has been a failure.

Fan Yongfen, a professor at Fudan University, claimed, "The U.S. will not properly handle inflation and the pandemic this year," and predicted, "President Biden is likely to suffer a lame-duck period ahead of the midterms this year, and his term will fail in next year's presidential election."

Chinese media also rebutted the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)'s annual report. The USTR announced in its annual report the day before that it would reorganize trade sanctions against China. The report expressed concerns about China's non-market practices and emphasized a focus on long-term benefits for American workers. It analyzed that China's overly concentrated production has weakened U.S. supply chains and harmed American consumers.

Global Times criticized the report, saying that China helped the U.S. even during the COVID-19 pandemic and that the USTR's report contains only baseless content.

Gao Lingyun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, evaluated, "The U.S. tariff war and economic sanctions against China are not only ineffective but may also provoke resistance within the U.S.," adding, "The U.S. trade policy toward China is caught in a dilemma."

Hu Qimu, a researcher at Sinosteel, said, "The very idea of increasing U.S. manufacturing to fight inflation is wrong," explaining, "The U.S. aiming to control inflation through domestic production and supply ignores international division of labor, including labor costs." He added that additional tariffs on Chinese products would rather exacerbate U.S. inflation.

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