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 would listen to other countries in the region before implementing its policies towards Beijing, Kishore Mahbubani, now a distinguished member of the Asian Research Institute at the National University of Singapore, told “ Squawk Box Asia ”from CNBC.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that the Biden administration should look very tough on China,” he said, adding, “This is very clear because there is a strong bipartisan consensus in the United States that the time has come for the US to stay as far as China. “
He made his remarks Wednesday morning during Asian hours ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration.
US-China relations deteriorated significantly under President Donald Trump, as the two superpowers fought a trade war and competed for technological superiority. In some cases, the US tried to bring countries closer to China. But in Asia, particularly Southeast Asia, Beijing’s economic and political influence remains strong.
“The most important thing here is for the Biden administration to listen to the countries in the region before they implement any policy towards China?” Said Mahbubani. He explained that if the Biden administration starts to listen, he would discover 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 agree 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 U.S. Capitol building is set for the inaugural ceremonies of President-elect Joe Biden as American flags are placed on the ground at the National Mall on January 18, 2021 in Washington, DC.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
“After all, I am optimistic that behind the very strong rhetoric, there is also an understanding in the Biden administration that they have to work with the rest of East Asia. And frankly, I also work with China. on critical issues such as climate change for example, “he added.
The US is back in Asia
Under the Obama administration, one of the fundamental pillars of the American pivot to Asia was the trans-peaceful collaboration agreement. Trump pulled the United States out of that deal when he took office in 2017.
The remaining 11 TPP countries continued to renegotiate the pact and signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2018. Last year, China and 14 other countries signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Regional (RCEP), which became the largest trading bloc in the world, with a market of 2.2 billion people and a world production of 26.2 trillion dollars.
As such, the United States does not participate in any of the mega trade agreements involving most of the major Asian economies except India.
The TPP was a “gift to the United States because it was a way to anchor the U.S. presence in East Asia, to ensure that this region is not dominated by China,” Mahbubani said.
He explained that the unfavorable domestic attitude in the United States toward free trade agreements, even those that could be potentially beneficial to the country, would make it difficult for Washington to rejoin the new CPTPP.
“To make a real pivot, the U.S. would have to find ways and means to return perhaps in a very subtle and indirect way to the transpacific partnership,” Mahbubani said.