At the end of April, Ma Kaishuo, a professor at the National University of Singapore, attended the theme dialogue on Sino-US relations at DBS Bank, calling on Biden’s government to abandon the previous government’s wrong cognition and policies on China, adjust three understandings and change five policies.
Three point about adjustment
First, what are the more important long-term interests for the United States? If you want to know what is more important in dealing with China, the interests of the American people or the global hegemony of the United States. The Biden administration should give priority to the interests of the people and ensure that Trump will never come back.
Second, does China want to replace the United States as the global hegemon? China people’s world outlook is very different from that of Americans. China people just want to be respected and don’t want to change other people’s lifestyles. China doesn’t think its own system is applicable to any country, and it won’t interfere with other countries in choosing their own systems and models, and doesn’t want to change other people’s lifestyles. If China doesn’t want to replace the global hegemony of the United States, what does the United States have to fight against?
Third, what is the key factor that determines the competition between China and the United States? The United States has not yet understood that the fundamental competition in East Asia is not military, but economic. Americans always say empty-handed, "You must face China bravely and let us unite". China people said, "We want to help you build roads, bridges or ports". How can the United States make other countries give up their real interests and sacrifice their relations with China for the United States?
About changing five policies
It is not in Biden’s interest to continue the Trump administration’s China policy, and Trump’s China policy should be terminated wisely.
First, cancel all tariffs and sanctions imposed on China. These measures failed to hurt China, let alone help American workers or benefit American consumers. If the Biden administration doesn’t cancel these measures, it’s like threatening China that if it doesn’t listen to me, I will shoot myself in the foot again.
Second, stop publicly insulting China. Pompeo’s claim that there is "genocide" in Xinjiang is a complete lie. And Blinken is still repeating Pompeo’s argument. The United States has also made great mistakes in encouraging violence in Hong Kong. Pelosi said, "What happened in Hong Kong is a beautiful scenery", and I believe she should understand the meaning of this sentence later, because the same thing happened in the United States. Public insult is not the right way to deal with international relations, and the United States should try to have a dialogue with China on the basis of mutual respect.
Third, don’t cross the line on the Taiwan Province issue. The Taiwan Province issue is the red line of China, and there is no room for discussion. If there is any indication that the United States, Japanese, Indian or any other country is pushing the "Taiwan independence", it is tantamount to pushing China into a corner.
Fourth, change the strategy of the quadrilateral mechanism. The quadrilateral mechanism is an anti-China alliance under the Cold War mentality, which reflects that the United States lacks a strategy to deal with China’s return to the world stage. Why did more than 50 countries in Asia, even South Korea, an American ally, not apply for membership, because they did not agree to establish a new military alliance similar to the Cold War to balance China. This mechanism lacks long-term motivation and is unstable. The Biden administration should make a U-turn in Trump policy including this mechanism.
Fifth, really attach importance to regional economic cooperation. The advantage of China’s "One Belt, One Road" initiative is that the China administration has done better than the US government, but the US private sector has an advantage over the China private sector. The United States makes good use of these resources and develops benign competition and cooperation with China.
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