SINGAPORE – The Biden administration is likely to maintain harsh rhetoric against China, a former Singapore diplomat said on Wednesday.
But it remains to be seen whether the administration will listen to other countries in the region before implementing its policies towards Beijing, Kishore Mahbubani, now a distinguished colleague at the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” .
“I think there is no doubt that the Biden administration must look very harsh on China,” he said, adding: “This is very clear because there is a strong bipartisan consensus in the US that the time has come for the US to resist. China. “
He made his remarks Wednesday morning during Asian class before Joe Biden was inaugurated.
US-China relations have deteriorated significantly under President Donald Trump, while the two superpowers have fought for a trade war and are competing for technological superiority. In some cases, the United States has sought to bring countries on its side against China. But in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia, Beijing’s economic and political influence remains strong.
“The critical thing here is that the Biden administration will listen to the countries in the region before implementing any policy towards China?” Mahbubani said. He explained that if the Biden administration starts listening, it would find that there is a very strong consensus in East Asia.
“Yes, you have to be firm and strong in China, but we also have to get along with China. We have to work with China. We want our economies to recover from Covid-19. So this is the message you will receive, “Mahbubani said.
The US Chapter Building is preparing for the inaugural ceremonies for President-elect Joe Biden as American flags are laid on the National Mall on January 18, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
“At the end of the day, I’m actually optimistic that behind the very strong rhetoric, there’s an understanding in the Biden administration that they have to work with the rest of East Asia. And honestly, they’re working with China on critical issues like climate change, for example. “he added.
US return to Asia
Under the Obama administration, one of the cornerstones for America’s pivot in Asia was the trans-Pacific partnership agreement. Trump removed the United States from that deal when he took office in 2017.
The other 11 TPP countries continued to renegotiate the pact and signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP) in 2018. Last year, China and 14 other countries signed the Comprehensive Regional Economic Partnership (PREC), which became the the world’s largest trading bloc, covering a market of 2.2 billion people and $ 26.2 trillion in global production.
As such, the United States is not involved in any of the mega-trade agreements involving most of Asia’s prominent economies, with the exception of India.
The TPP was a “gift to the United States because it was a way to anchor the US presence in East Asia to ensure that this region would not become dominated by China,” Mahbubani said.
He explained that the unfavorable domestic attitude in the US towards free trade agreements, even those that could potentially benefit the country, would make it harder for Washington to join the new CPTPP.
“To be a true pivot, the United States should find ways and means to return perhaps in a very subtle and indirect way to the trans-Pacific partnership,” Mahbubani said.