What Will Biden Give Away in Trade Talks Between China and US?

President Joe Biden showed that he was willing to throw US solar panel manufacturers under the bus, putting at risk American businesses in favor of China. Now the People's Republic of China's (PRC) Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao is visiting the United States for talks with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai. These discussions will be the first since Raimondo was confirmed in her Department of Commerce (DOC) position in March 2021. Congressional sentiment toward China's predatory trade practices and "persistent aggression against the United States and the West's interests around the globe," as Liberty Nation reported, provide a combative backdrop for the talks. In addition, the recent meetings between Taiwan's president and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, over the objection of Beijing, must have gotten China's President Xi Jinping's attention.

China May Have the Upper Hand in Meetings

Raimondo and Tai have little direct experience dealing with the Chinese. Raimondo's conversation with her counterpart in March 2021 involved a perfunctory congratulations for being confirmed as Cabinet secretary. No better prepared, Tai has had only a brief conversation with Wang during a sidebar at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministerial meeting in November 2022. By contrast, Beijing's commerce minister, a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) veteran, is not easily persuaded to bargain. Nonetheless, with so many US legislators on the warpath against China, the PRC's commerce representative is not entering a friendly arena.

The US trade team should not compromise on Chinese "economic warfare, including their state-led, market-distorting policies, forced technology transfers, intellectual property theft, and exploitation of US capital markets," as Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP, warned. Furthermore, the PRC has not been shy in threatening America's supply chains in the Indo-Pacific. On this point, US national security and trade policy converge.

In a May 21 interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) explained, "Most disturbing is a quote from Xi Jinping himself, who says, 'we want to get foreign nations dependent on our supply chains so that down the road, we can cut them off from these supply chains.'" Foreign policy wonks and many in the Biden administration want American citizens to believe statements by our adversaries are nuanced and vague. They are not. Xi means what he says. To think otherwise is terribly naïve.

Former US Trade Rep Makes Strong Case Against China

Highlighting the danger, former US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in testimony before the Gallagher committee:

"It is not an exaggeration to say that the Chinese Communist Party has been waging an economic war against the US for decades. In this economic war they use all the tools of classic mercantilists plus many more. Their entire economic policy is designed to be an integral part of their overall strategy of global dominance."

China's US embassy said about the meeting, "Wang will address 'respective concerns' over economic and trade relations between the two nations in his talks with the US officials, embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said [May 18]," according to Rose Horowitch, reporting for NBC News. But such moderate language belies a seriousness and dedication to the "overall strategy of global dominance," as Lighthizer warned. However, suppose the US team goes into this meeting "as the US seeks engagement with Beijing to salve damaged ties," as Reuters described the Biden administration's motivation. In that case, it will be at a disadvantage. Raimondo and Tai need strong resolve. "Washington has expressed eagerness for high-level meetings with China in an effort to keep increasingly tense relations from veering toward conflict," Reuters continued.

Why aren't Xi and the Xi-men in Beijing worried about not ruffling Biden administration feathers? The United States didn't send a spy balloon over the PRC. The United States hasn't flown threatening aircraft close to the Chinese shores. The United States hasn't accused Beijing of playing with fire. It's high time the Biden administration stops trying to "salve" the CCP's ego for the "damaged ties" Beijing damaged.