U.S.-China relations are ‘still deteriorating,’ says former U.S. ambassador
U.S.-China relations are getting worse and have not “reset” under President Joe Biden in the way that many had previously expected, said Max Baucus, a former American ambassador to China.
“The situation unfortunately is generally still deteriorating,” Baucus told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Friday.
“I think a lot of people thought with the election of Joe Biden, that might end the free fall, that might be the bottom and things would slowly come back to normal — but that has not really happened,” he added.
Tensions between the U.S. and China grew rapidly under former U.S. President Donald Trump, who slapped higher tariffs on Chinese goods and placed some Chinese companies on a blacklist that limit their business dealings in the U.S.
Baucus, who was appointed ambassador to China by President Barack Obama in 2014, told CNBC in October that U.S.-China relations will “see a bit of a reset” if Biden became president. But he acknowledged Friday that he was wrong and Biden’s policies on China are “just as strong as Trump’s.”
Under Biden, Washington — along with its allies in Europe, Canada and the U.K. — slapped sanctions on Chinese officials for alleged human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in the Northwestern Xinjiang region. The U.S. president also ordered a closer review of the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic and expanded restrictions on American investments in certain Chinese companies.
Facing pressure from the U.S. and other countries, China on Thursday passed a new law to counter foreign sanctions.
Thai
Eng