After the change of president, China warns the US

Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke at the inaugural meeting that opened the virtual version of the World Economic Forum. The speech of the leading exponent of China focused on the need to avoid a new cold war, without however explicitly mentioning the true recipient of the message: the new president of the United States. To achieve this, the Chinese president confirmed his defense of multilateralism, the economic one certainly not that of rights, greater global cooperation to be tested at the current moment of the pandemic and stressed the need for a greater importance of the role of the G20 association. to govern and direct the global system of the global economy, especially in the complicated phase of recovery from the crisis caused by the health emergency. The head of state of China did not contradict himself by presenting his dirigiste vision on world government, deeply centered on economic aspects at the expense, as is normal, of issues related to civil and political rights. A message that Trump, net of the conflicting interests of the two countries, could also have appreciated; however, for Biden there are strong contrasting elements of which Xi Jinping is well aware: if the previous tenant of the White House did not like the excessive Chinese presence on the international scene, supported by a great rearmament, Biden has a different attitude towards rights , which is the most contrasting aspect for Beijing. The Chinese president seems to want to anticipate this danger with the warning not to try to intimidate or threaten his country with sanctions or measures aimed at opposing China’s economic development, which could lead to situations of confrontation or even a more structured conflict, a sort of new cold war capable of blocking the global economy. This is certainly a threat, but also a very feared situation in a country where the problem of growth is always experienced with great apprehension. Compared to four years ago, Xi Jinping tries a different approach with the newly inaugurated president of the United States: if for Trump the initial message was of collaboration, with Biden there is a warning not to follow the isolationist and arrogant policy of his predecessor. . The reading that is drawn is that the Chinese president is moving on two levels: an internal one, to demonstrate to the Chinese people his will to affirm the country in the international context and an external one to emphasize the growth of China, which no longer accepts a subordinate role towards the USA. The role that Xi Jinping has built for himself, that of defender of the open economy, without trade barriers, for investments and technological exchanges, is no longer credible, despite trying to reiterate the correctness of these reasons, in contrast, however, with the coherence of a nation that has made the low cost of labor as an element of strength of its productive force, however without any legal guarantee and therefore a factor of unfair competition, the non-respect of intellectual property and patents and the non-reciprocity of exchanges , altering the investment market with unfair practices towards poor countries. Even the last part of the appeal of the Chinese president represents an evident contradiction: in order to foster growth, the need to abandon ideological prejudices in respect of the cultural, historical and social differences of each country is recalled, without however mentioning the repression of the dissent, a common practice in China and Hong Kong, and repeated attempts to cancel traditional and religious peculiarities as happens in Tibet and towards Muslim Chinese. Paradoxically, Xi Jinping’s statements may constitute a programmatic agenda for Biden to settle with China, on the other hand, already in the election campaign the new president did not seem to want to take a position too different from Trump towards Beijing, if these statements are to follow an opposite behavior, as it seems reasonable to think, for Biden the confrontation with China will be a topic constantly on the agenda: in the short term it will be important to change the tone of the confrontation, even if the themes cannot vary it will be necessary to avoid dangerous confrontations, which could degenerate; it is necessary to remember the centrality of alliances and the strategic framework in the Eastern Pacific for Washington, as a source of possible conflict, however the initial period will have to serve to build a dialogue without the US retreating from the need to defend democratic values ​​and indeed, are the strongest defenders: this will be the starting point for relations with China after Trump’s departure.