China stepping up ties with Japan & South Korea ahead of expected Biden focus on U.S. allies

The U.S. under Biden is expected to compete with China by strengthening its network of allies.

Kayla Wong | November 25, 2020, 09:15 PM

China is stepping up its relations with Japan and South Korea -- two key American allies in Asia -- ahead of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration next year on Jan. 20.

China visits U.S. allies ahead of Biden's inauguration

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi started his two-day visit to Japan on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and will be visiting South Korea next on Wednesday, Nov. 25.

In his meeting with his counter part Toshimitsu Motegi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, they are expected to talk about China's possible participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The CPTPP is the renegotiated version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that U.S. President Donald Trump backed out of within days of taking office. Obama had pushed for the TPP as the centrepiece of his Asia policy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the virtual 27th Apec Economic Leaders' Meeting last Friday, Nov. 20, that China will "favourably consider" joining the CPTPP.

And Japan appears to be open to China joining the trade pact.

Suga said Japan supports "the steady implementation and expansion of the CPTPP", Reuters reported.

Besides China, the United Kingdom has also expressed its interest in joining the trade deal.

U.S. under Biden expected to compete with China through allies

China's new spate of diplomatic drive comes as Biden is poised to take over the White House early next year.

His pick of Antony Blinken, who served in the Obama administration as deputy secretary of state and deputy national security adviser, as his Secretary of State points towards a possible adjustment in the U.S.'s China policy.

The foreign policy career official, described by the New York Times as a "defender of global alliances", has echoed Biden's stance towards China by saying that the U.S. needs to "rally [their] allies and partners instead of alienating them to deal with some of the challenges that China poses".

Biden has said the "most effective way to meet that challenge is to build a united front of U.S. allies and partners to confront China's abusive behaviours and human rights violations".

Should he pursue such a strategy and mend frayed relations with U.S.'s allies to counter China, the U.S. might even present a greater challenge to Chinese global ambitions in the long run -- something which Beijing might not necessarily welcome.

Blinken is also less likely to continue with current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's harsh rhetoric towards China -- Pompeo had recently said the fight is not between the U.S. and China, but is "between authoritarianism, barbarism on one side and freedom on the other".

China's relations with the U.S. had hit a new low in decades under Trump, who has launched a trade war with China and blamed China for the Covid-19 pandemic that has claimed more than 260,000 lives in the U.S.

Is China preparing for more predictability with Biden?

China appears to be prepared for a potential change in tone in its relations with the U.S. under Biden.

While Beijing has chosen to play it safe initially by waiting to congratulate Biden, they finally extended their congratulations after some delay -- nearly a week after his win. This shows they have accepted the result, and sends a signal that they are willing to cooperate with the Biden administration.

Nationalist state-backed media Global Times, which is often used by China watchers as a rough gauge on what the top leadership in Beijing thinks, wrote on Nov. 24 that with the beginning of the formal transition process to Biden, China could start reaching out to Biden's team and set up communication channels.

The article also cited analysts who said the Biden administration, which includes familiar faces like former Secretary of State John Kerry, would "bring a more professional, rational and pragmatic approach" to U.S.-China relations.

This view aligns with what other Chinese foreign policy experts have expressed on the issue. Shi Yinhong, director of the Centre on American Studies at Beijing-based People's University, said that "compared to Trump, Biden would be a lot less wild, vulgar, and erratic", adding that America's China policy "will become more predictable and stable".

In another article, Global Times also talked about the possibility of the U.S. joining the CPTPP, which it said would help open up economic dialogue between the two countries.

But China is under no illusion that there would be a complete reset of relations, having repeatedly said the U.S. would continue to see China as a strategic competitor.

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Top image via Lintao Zhang/Getty Images