Inflection point calls for change of approach by Washington

LI YANG

Speaking at the Brookings Institution on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered some food for thought on what truly hinders the healthy development of Sino-US ties.
In the 54-minute conversation between Blinken and Brookings President Cecilia Rouse, and some members of the audience, China was mentioned at least 24 times. In comparison, Russia was mentioned 17 times, indicating which country is the major concern in Washington and US think tank circles.
With the NATO summit in Washington around the corner, Blinken took advantage of the occasion to explain why the United States has invited four of its Asia-Pacific allies-Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Republic of Korea — to the gathering. Citing challenges from China, he made it clear that the US attaches great significance to integrating its Atlantic and Pacific security networks.
As Blinken hinted, the Joe Biden administration is even more convinced now than it was three years ago that the US should seek to work closely with all countries, not only its allies, to deal with the challenges from China, and try its best to hammer home the message around the world that China is the common concern of all.
Blinken’s referring to the remark by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that what happens in Europe today could happen in Asia tomorrow explains how desperate the Biden administration has become to speculate on the Russia-Ukraine conflict to project China as a key security concern for both European and Asian countries.
Blinken bragged about the remarkable progress the Biden administration has made over the past three years in persuading the US’ European allies and critical Asian partners to align their approach to China-related issues with that of the US-“both the shared recognition of what the challenge is and, increasingly, a shared view on what to do about it”. That will apparently also be a major item on the agenda of the upcoming NATO summit in the US capital.
As the US is leaving no stone unturned to coerce or hoodwink other countries to jump on its anti-China bandwagon and trying its best to contain China’s development, it is hypocritical that the Biden administration, as Blinken said, still seeks to do everything it can to cooperate with China in areas where they can. But the latest complaints from the US side that NASA wasn’t invited to take part in China’s mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the moon as the European Space Agency was, along with France, and Italy and Pakistan, serve to belie that claim.
Washington should be reminded that it is the US’ domestic legislation, such as the Wolf Amendment, that blocks such cooperation. So the real question that should be asked is not why NASA has not been invited but why US scientists and institutions are not allowed by their own government to participate in the project.
After more than three years in power, the Biden administration has yet to develop a correct judgment on China. That’s why its China policy and practices are still proceeding in the wrong direction.