36.1 C
Delhi
Thursday, March 28, 2024

US National Security strategy sees China as Emerging ‘Global Threat’

The US National Security Strategy document referred India as it’s most important ally, whereas tagged China a threat not only for US but to the global peace especially in Indo-Pacific region.

As expected, the Chinese officials condemned the US on Thursday tagging it as “outdated confrontational mentality” and mediating an “external threat” to divert attention from domestic problems. China’s Global Times urged Washington to follow the principles of peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation after the Biden administration described China as “America’s most important geopolitical challenge” in his first formal national security strategy.

“It is neither popular nor constructive to stick to the zero-sum mentality of the Cold War and play geopolitical conflicts and great power competition. China and the US are major countries in the world,” said Mao Ning, a Foreign Ministry spokesman. he said at a routine press briefing on Thursday.

She also said that as the China and the US have responsibilities to defend world peace and stability and promote economic prosperity and development. However the US knows the reality that all China’s neighboring countries like Japan, India, Magnolia, Taiwan and others feel insecure due to China’s land encroachment tactics.

The global times and Chinese government officials recited the usual lines like “The US must follow the principle of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation, adhere to President Biden’s “Five Nos” pledge, and work with China to return China-US relations to the path of healthy and stable development”.

The Biden administration’s national security strategy released Wednesday outlined the importance of alliances to contain China in the coming “decisive decade,” and expected India’s support along with strong partnership in establishing Peace in Indo-Pacific region.

Russia was described as an “imminent threat” that needed to be contained, while China was identified as “the only US competitor” with the “intent and power to reshape the world”. Words like Russia and Russian appeared 83 times, according to the statistics, while words related to China, including China, PRC and China, appeared 60 times in the 48-page report.

The report also said the US remains committed to the one-China policy but supports “the self-defense of the island of Taiwan”. It also pledged that the Biden administration would prioritize domestic industrial and high-tech sectors, strengthen alliances and invest in strengthening its military.

China experts said the Biden administration’s national security strategy essentially continues the Trump-era stance toward China and is more of a summary of U.S. actions and intentions.

The strategy indicated that the US basically has three goals it wants to achieve in the future: curb China’s high-tech development; limit Chinese influence, foster ideological alliances, and prevent the success of the Chinese system from being widely recognized around the world; and making further provocations on the Taiwan issue to trap China, experts noted.

Lü Xiang, an international relations expert and researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that although the latest national security strategy contains many empty statements, it is shrouded in a strong sense of confrontation.

The future prospects of Sino-US relations may not be optimistic, and the confrontation may be long and fierce, he said.

The Biden administration said in the Strategy that the most pressing strategic challenge is “powers that layer authoritarian rule with revisionist foreign policy,” while Washington portrays itself as seeking a “free, open, prosperous, and secure world.”

By perceiving the opposition between “democracy” and “authoritarianism” as the most important contradiction, the US has effectively contradicted its own statement that it is not seeking a Cold War in the same report.

“It’s a variant of the ‘clash of civilizations,'” Lü said, “it suggests that the US is trying to prove that the institutions and systems it defends still work and are even universal.”

ABC News’ “Democracy at Risk” series that aired last week reported that more than two-thirds of Americans think their “democracy” is in danger of collapsing, according to an August Quinnipiac University poll. An ABC News\Washington Post poll in January shows that only 20 percent of respondents said they were very confident in the election system. As for “what can be done to restore confidence in the system,” experts told ABC News that the way forward is “unclear” and “very difficult.”

The Biden administration is now emphasizing “democracy versus autocracy,” both as a thinly veiled “Cold War declaration” to the world and as political preparation at home: mobilizing supporters by portraying opponents as anti-democratic and illiberal, Lü said.

According to a New York Times report, Joe Biden’s strategy is notable for blurring the lines between domestic and foreign policy.

Liu Weidong, a research fellow at the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that with November’s midterm elections looming, the report highlights “external threats” and an aggressive response from the Biden administration aimed at winning more votes.

According to the New York Times, the Strategy is often “a self-aggrandizing ode to American power.” CNBC believes the strategy generally functions “more as an aspirational statement of the president’s values ​​than a blueprint for military plans.”

Most Popular Articles