Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned the U.S. today that the U.S. and China are headed toward “conflict and confrontation” if Washington doesn’t change its foreign policy. Beijing got a rude awakening Sept. 23, 2022 when 80-yar-old President Joe Biden breached the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act [TRA] when he said he would use U.S. troops to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. No matter how much the State Department tries to walk back Biden’s comments, they were heard loud-and-clear in Beijing where Chinese President Xi Jinping recognized that Biden violated the Taiwan Relations Act. In 1979, former President Jimmy Carter signed the TRA into law, recognizing only Beijing and terminating the 1954 Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty. Threatening to sanction Beijing if they support Russia’s war in Ukraine, Gang put Washington on notice that U.S.-China relations sunk to a new low.
Qin told the annual meeting of the Chinese legislature that if something doesn’t change soon between Beijing and Washington, Biden could be fighting a two-front war, one in Russia and the other in China. Unlike his predecessors, Biden’s foreign policy has alienated Russia and China since taking office Jan. 20, 2021. Biden called 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin a “soulless killer” March 18, 2021, setting a bad tone from the start. When Biden met for summit with Putin June 16, 2021, the two leaders barely had anything to say, ending the summit abruptly. Biden’s 60-year-old Secretary of State Antony Blinken and 45-year-old National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan didn’t fair any better at a get-to-know-you-summit in Anchorage, Alaska, accusing Bejing of genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in Western China. Gang’s comments should worry every American that Biden treads on thin ice.
Why Biden set out to wreck U.S.-Russian and U.S.-Chinese relations is anyone’s guess. But Biden’s failed diplomacy is unprecedented in modern U.S. history. Biden has trashed decades of diplomacy with nuclear-armed adversaries, increasing the prospects of war with Russia and China. Biden denies that he’s actively involved in the Ukraine War, supplying arms, cash and training to Ukraine’s military. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that the U.S. runs the Ukraine War, certainly not the bankrupt, warn-torn Kiev government. State Department officials said today that the Ukraine will win the war with the Russian Federation, something so improbable it defies reality. Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Voldymyr Zelensky spent the last years losing 25% of Ukraine’s sovereign land to Russian. Biden’s turned into the biggest war hawk ever to occupy the White House.
When it comes to China, Gang warned Biden that he’s heading down a very dangerous path to war. “If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing there surely will be conflict and confrontation,” Gang said. Chinese officials were especially irked by Biden’s recent threats of retaliation if China support Moscow’s Ukraine War. “Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-around containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented grave challenges to our nation’s development,” Xi said, quoted in the China’s official Xinhua New Agency. Biden’s statements about defending Taiwan, only one month after 82-eyar-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defied Beijing Aug. 4, 2022, visiting Taiwan. State Department officials deny any change in U.S. policy.
So when President Biden speaks and spells out officials U.S. policy, the State Department walks back his remarks. “There is no change to the United States’ posture when it comes to this bilateral relationship,” said State Department Spokesman Ned Price. “The president believes those tensions obviously have to be recognized but can be worked through. And we again seek competition not conflict,” Price said, pretending Biden’s actions don’t have consequences. Price and other White House officials make excuses for Biden.. When Xi expresses such despair about U.S.-Chinese relations, there’s a disconnect with Biden and the State Department. Biden’s shown in his first two years in office that he’s not fit to conduct U.S. foreign policy. More gaffes and mistakes by Biden could result in the U.S. fighting a two-front war, one in Russia and the other in China, threatening U.S. national security.
Biden’s foreign policy has been hijacked by war hawks in his White House and Congress looking to pick fights with U.S. adversaries. Starting a proxy war with the Russian Federation is the worst blunder of any president in U.S. history. Biden violated the Taiwan Relations Act Sept. 23, 2022, warning Beijing he would send troops to defend Taipei in case of a Chinese invasion. Gang called out Biden’s hypocrisy threatening China for backing its No. 1 communist ally Russia while the U.S. supplies Taiwan with unlimited offensive weapons. “Why does the U.S. ask China not to provide weapons to Russia, while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan?” Gaing asked. Biden can’t dictate what side to take in his proxy war against the Kremlin. Xi doesn’t like the U.S. meddling in Eastern Europe any more than he likes to see you warships and surveillance planes in the South China Sear or Taiwan Strait.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
