A former Singapore diplomat said on Wednesday that the Biden government was likely to maintain tough rhetoric against China.
But it remains to be seen whether the government would listen to other countries in the region before implementing its policy towards Beijing, Kishore Mahbubani, now a leading associate at the Asian Research Institute of the National University of Singapore, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” said.
“I think there is absolutely no doubt that the Biden government should appear very tough on China,” he said, adding: “This is very clear because there is a strong two-party consensus in the United States that the time arrived that the US should stand as far as China. ‘
He made his remarks Wednesday morning during Asian hours before Joe Biden was inaugurated.
Relations between the United States and China have deteriorated significantly under President Donald Trump, as the two superpowers have fought a trade war and are vying for technological superiority. In some cases, the US has tried to bring countries to China’s side. But in Asia, especially Southeast Asia, Beijing’s economic and political influence remains strong.
“The most important thing here is that the Biden government will listen to the countries in the region before implementing any policy towards China?” Mahbubani said. He explained that if the Biden government started listening, it would discover that there is a very strong consensus in East Asia.
“Yes, you have to be firm and strong towards 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 that’s the message you will have. get, ‘Mahbubani said.
The U.S. Capitol Building is preparing for the inauguration ceremony for Elected President Joe Biden as U.S. flags are placed in the ground at 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 is also an understanding in the Biden government that they need to work with the rest of East Asia. And honestly, work with China as well. critical issues such as climate change, for example, ”he added.
US return to Asia
Under the Obama administration, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement was one of the cornerstones of America’s pivot in Asia. Trump pulled the US out of the deal when he first took office in 2017.
The remaining 11 countries in the TPP renegotiated the treaty and signed the comprehensive and progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) agreement in 2018. Last year, China and 14 other countries signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which has become the largest trading bloc in the world, with a market of 2.2 billion people and $ 26.2 billion in global production.
As such, the United States is not involved in any of the mega-trade transactions involving most of Asia’s leading economies other than 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 is not dominated by China,” Mahbubani said.
He explained that unfavorable domestic attitudes in the US towards free trade agreements, even those that could potentially benefit the country, would make it more difficult for Washington to rejoin the new CPTPP.
“To make a real focal point, the US needs to find ways and means to get back into the Trans-Pacific Partnership in a very subtle and indirect way,” Mahbubani said.