
Commentary / World Feb 7, 2021
Biden plays Deng’s card against Xi
Chinese officials are clearly disappointed that he doesn’t seem to be thinking of China and did not mention China during his inaugural address.
Frank Ching is a Hong Kong-based writer who has covered developments in China for several decades. He opened The Wall Street Journal’s Bureau in Beijing after the U.S. and China established diplomatic relations in 1979, becoming one of the first American reporters to be based in China since 1949.
For Frank Ching's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Chinese officials are clearly disappointed that he doesn’t seem to be thinking of China and did not mention China during his inaugural address.
China’s position in the world has been elevated as a result of the pandemic, despite criticism that its early missteps and cover-ups made possible the spread of the virus around the world.
Hopefully, the buildup of publicity of people sending Christmas cards to the imprisoned Canadians will put moral pressure on China, causing it to abandon its practice of hostage diplomacy.
In the current political climate, it is difficult to see China reversing its current course of greater integration of Hong Kong into the mainland.
Hong Kong's chief executive has created a path for the city's leadership to remove legislators at will, without involvement of the legislature itself or the judiciary.
Beijing has made clear it hopes that a change in the U.S. administration will lead to an improvement in the bilateral relationship.
China risks losing the trade and investment that it needs from the developed world. To be seen as a “responsible major country,” it must behave accordingly.
Beijing's position on the contest between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the standard-bearer of the Democratic Party, is that it has no position.
With Trump, perhaps unwittingly, doing China’s work, there’s every reason for Beijing to help him win votes in November.
The system's obsession with controlling information means it isn't flexible enough to prevent a crisis from developing.