The first high level in-person meeting amid US-Chinese officials under the new Biden administration had augmented tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The two countries are at odds on many issues, from cyberattacks to trade; the relationship grew steadily worse under former President Donald Trump, who used tariffs to wage a trade war on Beijing thereto.
The Chinese were particularly angry that Washington had imposed sanctions on them the day before the talks, over a crackdown on pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong. Beijing solicited that the “United States does not have the qualification to say that it wants to speak to China from a position of strength. The US side was not even qualified to say such things even 20 years or 30 years back, because this is not the way to deal with the Chinese people. If the United States wants to deal properly with the Chinese side, then let’s follow the necessary protocols and do things the right way. Well, the American people are certainly a great people, but so are the Chinese people.”
US officials landed in Alaska after visiting US allies in South Korea and Japan, where the relationship with China was a major topic. US officials, however, say they are still reviewing aspects of US policy on China and intend to continue consulting with America’s allies and partners overseas thereof. The US stance was that it “will not stop holding China liable for its actions in places like Hong Kong, where Beijing has cracked down on democracy; its economic coercion of other countries. The US does not seek conflict, but welcomes stiff competition, and will always stand up for their principles, for their people, and for their friends.”
Though Beijing has often told the US to stop snooping in “internal matters,” the US asserted that such Chinese actions “threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability. That’s why they’re not merely internal matters.” Beijing meanwhile, warned the United States to back off and accused it of hypocrisy. Beijing said that the United States uses its financial and military might to bully other countries. America has its own long history of human rights problems and foolish actions abroad. “China does not believe in invading through the use of force, or to topple other regimes through various means, or to massacre the people of other countries, because all of those would only cause chaos and instability in this world.”
On the other side, a couple of days after the Alaska Meet, Iran and China signed a wide-ranging economic and security cooperation agreement as a “strategic partnership” that will last for 25 years. The deal, which was five years in the making, was signed in Tehran, defying US attempts to isolate Iran and advancing Tehran’s longstanding efforts to deepen diplomatic ties outside Western powers.
Details about the agreement weren’t immediately published, nonetheless it was said that Chinese investments will be in projects ranging from nuclear energy, ports, railroads and other infrastructure to transfer of military technology and investment in Iran’s oil-and-gas industry. In return for investments, China would receive steady supplies of Iranian oil, according to Iranian media, adding that the two countries also agreed to establish an Iranian-Chinese bank. Such a bank could help Tehran evade US sanctions that have effectively barred it from global banking systems.
“This cooperation is a basis for Iran and China to participate in major projects and infrastructure development, including Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative, said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ahead of the signing.
It is therefore asserted that Beijing is expanding influence in its home continent, shrugging off US sanctions and CAATSA whereof. Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1951, China and Pakistan have enjoyed a close and mutually beneficial relationship. Pakistan was one of the first countries to recognise the People’s Republic of China in 1950 and remained a steadfast ally during Beijing’s period of international isolation in the 1960s and early 1970s. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), one of the most ambitious components of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, was announced to great fanfare in 2015. Since then, it has consistently been held up as a “game changer” for Pakistan’s economy. But the road to completion has proved long and winding. The pace of CPEC projects has been slowing down in Pakistan in the past. At present, it is a dire need of the time for Pakistan to strive hard to work hand in hand with Chinese counterparts on CPEC for regional prosperity and stability in every aspect.
Source: https://nation.com.pk/17-Apr-2021/us-china-contest-for-influence-in-asia