US strategy is to push back against China in every domain, says official

Asserting that Beijing has been picking up fights right w virtually on every front of its interest, a top American diplomat on Monday said United States' strategy to counter it is to push back against China in every domain. “Our strategy is to push back against China in virtually every domain. We’re doing it in security area. We’re doing it in terms of outsized demands to claim sovereign territory, wher it’s in Galwan Valley of India on India-Chinese border, or in South Pacific,” Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun said during third India US Leership Summit.

summit was organised by US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF). Trump ministration is also doing it ecomically, he said.

“ president has led charge against predatory practices from Chinese ecomy and Phase One tre deal is just a first step in that (direction), to be followed by many ors in years ahe to equalize and balance US-China ecomic relationship,” he said, during a conversation with Richard Verma, former US Ambassor to India.

Underpinning all of that is a demand for basic reciprocity, he said.

"For a very long time, re h been a desire to extend to China special privileges and benefits, and even benefit of doubt among m, to bring China into a more modern and prosperous future," he ted.

"Twenty years ago when that initiative was launched in earnest with China’s entry into World Tre Organization, bet by most policymakers was that eventually, weight of institutions that China was joining would slowly redirect Chinese political system and Chinese interests to a point where China would become much more invested in a rules-based order...," Biegun said.

He ded that se rule based-orders would at least moderate tendencies of Chinese government to make it a better partner for many around world, even if y do t make China a true democracy.

“Unfortunately, this (US) ministration has reached conclusion that experiment has failed across all domains that I mentioned and we’re pushing back against China,” Biegun said.

Inste of finding some reasonable balance and shared interests, US has found that Chinese have exploited every opportunity that y can -- from techlogy ft to assertion of national sovereignty over territory and territorial waters of or countries, he said.

" United States is in a concerted effort to push back on all fronts," he ded.

"But perhaps biggest failed assumption was that institutions that China joined would ultimately change China. What US has found that China grew so quickly at beginning of this century that its outsized influence in those institutions is seeking inste to transform those institutions to China’s interests," said Biegun.

“That’s unacceptable from our point of view and we are pushing back in institutions like World Health Organization or like World Intellectual Property Organization.

"We are pushing back hard to ensure that organizations eir here to ir core principles or we make clear we are t going to be a party to those efforts. re is a lot of concern about China, but re is an all-of-government effort here to turn it back,” diplomat said.

According to Biegun, re is real concern inside Beijing as to what y are confronting. “Internally, China is simultaneously trying to erase Tibetan cultural identity; y are repressing hundreds of thousands, if t more than a million, Uyghur Muslims and trying to separate se people from ir faith and ir historical trition,” he said.

Chinese government has breached UK-China agreement on transition of Hong Kong and asserted direct state control from Beijing that has completely abolished “one China, two systems” commitment that Beijing me to UK and to Hong Kong people to uphold through 2049, he alleged.

But beyond internal challenges, China is also facing deep strategic and ecomic tensions with United States of America, as US seeks to push back against se various areas of concern, Biegun said. Pointing out Beijing's attitude of multilateral confrontation with various countries across globe at same time, Biegun said it is in "near hostilities with" India, in a "state of hostility" with Taiwan, "in competition and less than cooperative relationship with Japan" with a "deep, steep deterioration of ir relationship with Australia and to some extent with New Zealand”.

"y have been in a contentious battle of words and more with many of US partners in Europe over COVID-19 disinformation and several or Chinese behaviours are deeply disturbing to our European partners.

“From China’s perspective, whatever y’re doing can’t possibly be seen as working as y’re picking a fight right w on virtually every front and on every area of interest that People’s Republic of China has,” Biegun said.