Editorial. The first high-level China-US meeting since the Biden administration came to power, held on March 18 and 19 in Anchorage, Alaska, was not supposed to produce concrete progress. It should nevertheless allow the two powers to gauge each other, in a relationship that asserts itself as the structuring geopolitical axis of the decade. From this point of view, the face-to-face meeting could not have been more informative.
Discussions were “Harsh and straightforward”, recognized, Friday, a senior American official. The talks, which brought together Secretary of State Tony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on the one hand, and Yang Jiechi, member of the Communist Party of China political bureau responsible for foreign policy, on the other, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, had started, the day before, by exchanges of frank hostility, in the presence of the journalists.
The Americans accused China of “Threaten global stability” and D’“Attacking fundamental values” by organizing a “Genocide” in Xinjiang, by its repressive policy in Tibet or Hong Kong and its attacks in cyberspace. The Chinese retaliated by denouncing the “Condescension” Americans, who “Are not qualified to say that they want to speak to China from a position of strength” and would do well to start by sweeping in front of their door. The citizens of the United States themselves, they argued, no longer have ” trust “ in this “American democracy” that Washington wants to impose, as evidenced by the anti-racist movement Black Lives Matter.
A two-pillar strategy
Like President Biden, Messrs. Blinken and Sullivan undoubtedly knew what they were exposing themselves to by decreeing new sanctions against China two days before this meeting, to condemn the repression of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. The new Democratic administration wants to be tough on human rights abuses, and Mr Biden said he was ” proud ” of Tony Blinken’s performance. But their Chinese interlocutors are no longer limited to the usual bittersweet diplomatic remarks: they pose as representatives of an alternative system to liberal democracy. They do not intend to leave the monopoly of the world model to Washington and are also contesting the legitimacy of the United States to set itself up as a leader. The United States, said Yang Jiechi, “Do not represent international public opinion, any more than the Western world”.
Faced with authoritarian regimes, this is the challenge for Joe Biden, who has based his diplomacy on two pillars, values and allies: to carry these values loud and clear when you yourself are at the head of a weakened democracy. President Vladimir Putin, who has already proclaimed “Obsolete liberalism” two years ago, moreover invited the American president to a live debate – he who never wanted to debate with a candidate for the Russian presidential election. Mr Putin was reacting to comments by Mr Biden, who admitted that he viewed the Kremlin chief as a “Killer” in an interview with ABC, after which Moscow recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations.
The language of firmness will not suffice. The Biden administration must indeed work with its allies to reduce Western dependencies in value chains, but also strengthen and renew the democratic institutions of the countries of the free world. A long term job.
