By Strauss Cooperstein
There is no question that China’s one-party state has tightened its control in parallel to its emerging economic and technological strength. The West allowed Xi Jinping to advance a strong nationalist campaign of “internet sovereignty” and information control across a number of areas, including the coronavirus and human rights. Additionally, the psychological and cultural pressure of the Chinese government is especially impactful on foreign companies based in China or domestic firms whose mandated technological innovation may lead to unethical data management practices. As America decides on our next president, we need to consider how each candidate will deal with increasingly sour US-China geopolitical relations that have created challenging conditions for collaboration in tech, trade, and media.
At least in the short-term, the current hawkish stance will not dramatically change with either president in office, given the bipartisan consensus of China as a strategic rival and a host of domestic issues that will take priority. Nevertheless, how we view China as we approach the next rounds of trade talks, potential tariffs and sanctions, or accusatory bans on technology platforms and party officials is all at stake in this next election. In contrast to Trump’s “tit for tat” approach with inflamed rhetoric and politicking, Biden proposes a more predictable multilateral approach that will still hold China accountable for the handling of the coronavirus, a trade surplus with the US, and human rights issues while acting less recklessly toward international institutions that have enabled more tolerable conversations with China in the past. Trump may be favored by Beijing’s politburo given his confrontational tendencies that give China reason to retaliate, while Chinese businesses that have foreign operations may prefer Biden’s more constructive approach.
Nevertheless, Biden’s position recognizes that China is a legitimate competitor that has risen in technological know-how and has faced a V-shaped recovery in industries like entertainment that will surpass the US. Instead of contributing to a greater media-tech freeze, Biden plans to end the journalist expulsions and recognize the unjust nature of TikTok and WeChat bans while still creating hardliner policy aligned with the Commerce Department and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Thus, it will be America’s choice to view China through Biden as a competitor with room to “collaborate when it’s in our interest” or through Trump as “a foe in many ways” and the biggest threat to American national security. Confronting China to pursue its national interests while following appropriate international standards is no easy task and will require developing deeper cultural understanding and mutual respect.