Geopolitical rancor was on the menu Tuesday, familiar fare to be sure.
In his first news conference since becoming Chinese foreign minister, Qin Gang lashed out at Washington in a series of remarks that could’ve walked right out of a People’s Daily “Op-Ed” — or a Kim Yo-jong statement.
“If the United States continues to speed down the wrong path and doesn’t hit the brakes, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing,” Qin said. The “guardrails” mention was a reference to a mutual understanding between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, who have variously reiterated the necessity of establishing safeguards to prevent worsening bilateral relations from spiraling completely out of control.
Qin on Tuesday suggested the US is currently making “conflict and confrontation” inevitable. For reference, Qin is effectively Wang Yi‘s deputy. He called the kind of “competition” that Biden and Xi previously conceded was a fact of life in the 21st century “a reckless gamble,” and alluded to armageddon. “The stakes are the interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity,” he said, waxing hysterical, or as hysterical as one can be while maintaining the kind of outward restraint that so often accompanies otherwise irritable harangues by Chinese officials.
The balderdash from China’s foreign ministry came as the Biden administration looked poised to unveil a plan aimed at curbing the flow of investment to adversaries developing cutting edge technologies in key industries, including quantum computing, advanced semiconductors and selected AI applications.
At the same time, the US Senate was preparing a bipartisan bill to restrict Americans’ access to foreign technologies or companies which represent security threats. Ultimately, the measure could pave the way for a US ban on TikTok. “You have 100 million Americans on TikTok for 90 minutes every day,” US Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner said. “They are taking data from Americans [and] not keeping it safe [but] what worries me more with TikTok is that this can be a propaganda tool.”
Speaking of propaganda, US officials now believe Beijing is running the Moscow playbook. “China has long been seen by the US as a prolific source of anti-American propaganda but less aggressive in its influence operations than Russia,” the AP said, adding that “many in Washington now think China is increasingly adopting tactics associated with” the Kremlin.
China’s embassy insisted Beijing “opposes the fabrication and dissemination of false information,” a farcical claim. Apparently, Washington is most concerned about the Party’s propaganda efforts in Africa, Asia and Latin America — geopolitical “swing states,” as one source put it.
Qin on Tuesday demonstrated China’s penchant for propaganda and disinformation when he suggested NATO and the US were an “invisible hand” perpetuating the war in Ukraine. He didn’t mention Vladimir Putin, whose “hand” in the conflict is highly “visible.”
In addition, Qin blamed Washington for tensions with Taiwan and employed a bit of chilling Whataboutism: “Why does the US ask China not to provide weapons to Russia, while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan?” I can answer that: In Ukraine and Taiwan, the US is equipping the victim and hypothetical victim, respectively, of an invasion by armies operating at the behest of nuclear-armed tyrants.
On Monday, in remarks to the National People’s Congress, Xi was unusually explicit. “Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, blockade and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented grave challenges to our nation’s development,” he said.
In light of such challenges, China should “remain calm,” stay focused on “progress,” “unite as one” and “dare to fight.”
“Balderdash” …. really?
In the fuller texts I’ve read they point out that US sanctions on China are not solely due to national security concerns. Exhibit one is the TikTok kerfuffle.
It’s increasingly obvious that much of this is pure mercantilism and an escalating economic war.
What face-saving climb down have we left open for China? None whatsoever.
Yes, Derek, balderdash. It’s propaganda from a totalitarian regime run by a dictator who fashions himself a reincarnated Mao. You’ve been around long enough to remember Mao.
And yes, TikTok is dangerous. If you don’t see the opportunity for a Trojan Horse there, then go ahead and put TikTok on your phone and give it access to your other apps and location data.
If you’re not willing to do that then you’ve answered your own questions. If you are willing to do that, then I don’t think you know much about this.
Many apps on Google Play and the iStore have been found to be trojan laden. I give no apps access to other things on the phone, though they have become much more clever at evading scrutiny. Real examples, not hypotheticals.
But TikTok is not the biggest issue here. Pushing China into a corner with no exit ramp is.
Nobody is “pushing China into a corner.” The US isn’t obligated to sell the CCP advanced technology. If China wants a better widget, they can figure out how to build one themselves. The US also isn’t obligated to let a Chinese social media app collect data on 100 million Americans, many of whom are children. If China wants to run surveillance, let them do it at home. They just sailed a spy balloon across the entire country. Xi regularly references war with Taiwan, obliquely, sure, but you’d have to be a naive fool to not read between the lines. Xi’s China is a threat. It needs to be countered. There’s a reason why this is the only truly bipartisan issue on Capitol Hill. You keep pitching this in your comments as the sole purview of the CPAC crowd. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everybody on Capitol Hill with few exceptions (there are always a handful of exceptions) generally agrees about the need to counter this threat in all its various manifestations. And they’ve seen the intelligence. You haven’t.
So, what is the realistic end game to this?
Derek, with respect, you know there aren’t any answers to the question you’re asking. So why ask it? You’re just burning up my time, but more importantly, you’re burning up yours. What’s the solution to fraught bilateral relations between two superpowers at a critical inflection point for the world at the intersection of a new macro and geopolitical epoch? I have no idea. If you have the answer to that question, you could do your nation a service by traveling to Washington and telling everybody what that answer is. I do know what the answer isn’t, though. The answer isn’t: Trust Mao.
Yep, it’s tough.
But I do have one suggestion: don’t push China into a corner until we have adequate chip fab capacity away from Taiwan. Outside of the US election cycle, what was the rush?
Thanks to all for tolerating my rants.
I don’t mean to come across as abrasive, but I’ve given him (Xi) the benefit of the doubt in these pages over, and over, and over and over again, and it never works out. Infallibly, he disappoints. And the Xinjiang issue is very problematic when it comes to giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Thanks. Not taken that way at all.