In his meeting last week with visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Xie Feng, China’s vice foreign minister, accused the United States of treating China as an “imaginary enemy.”
He and his government are dismayed that the Biden administration has not softened Donald Trump’s hard-line policy toward China and instead continues to hold it accountable for its misdeeds. The expectation that the U.S. would reverse course was folly.
U.S. policy reflects a new consensus about China and this consensus extends to other governments as well. China needs to recognize this new normal and adjust policy accordingly. It appears to be doubling down on belligerence instead.