Joe Biden speaks with Xi Jinping, expresses concern over China’s “unfair and coercive” economic practices

US President Joe Biden first spoke by telephone on Wednesday with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.announced the White House.

In the call, Biden expressed his “deep concerns” about Beijing’s “unfair and coercive” economic practices, the crackdown in Hong Kong and “human rights violations in Xinjiang., a region where the Muslim minority of Uyghurs lives.

The two leaders also spoke, according to the White House statement, of the COVID-19 pandemic and “common challenges” posed by global health security and climate change.

The two leaders They also spoke about the covid-19 pandemic and the “common challenges” posed by global health security and climate change..

According to experts, more than a million Uyghurs are detained in political re-education camps in Xinjiang.

Beijing rejects the term “camps” and assures us that these are vocational training centers, designed to provide jobs for the population and keep religious extremism at bay.

There have been many expectations about the position of the new US president vis-à-vis China, due to the multiple points of tension that exist in the relations between the two leading world powers.

And if Biden has clearly shown his willingness to distance himself from Donald Trump’s foreign policy, China is one of the few issues where it could foster a certain continuity from its predecessor.

In an interview broadcast on CBS on Sunday, Biden warned that the rivalry between China and the United States would turn into “extreme competition”, although at the same time he said he wanted to avoid a “conflict” between the two. country.

Asked about his Chinese counterpart, Biden noted: “He doesn’t, and I don’t hear it as a criticism, but it’s a reality, only one democratic bone in his body.”.

Earlier, Biden announced the formation of a Defense Department special task force on China and ordered an immediate review of the military’s strategic approach to Beijing..

The review will be in addition to others the Pentagon is already carrying out, ranging from troop deployment in the Middle East to NATO policy.

During a visit to the Pentagon, Biden said the review was crucial to “chart a solid course on issues related to China that will require a whole-government effort.”

“We must face the growing challenges posed by China to maintain the peace and defend our interests in the [océano] Indo-Pacific and around the world“He added.

The new task force will have four months to present a report including assessments and recommendations on the US military strategy towards China. It will include areas such as technology, force structure and bilateral defense relations with Beijing.

The Democratic president said the Pentagon review should be approved by both political parties and Congress., as well as by allies and other associations.

“This is how we will meet the challenge of China and make the American people win the competition in the future,” he said.

Washington and Beijing are at odds on issues ranging from technology and human rights to the Asian giant’s military activities in the contested South China Sea., and each side accuses the other of deliberately provocative behavior.

Under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, the Pentagon has made the fight against China its top priority, which Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has announced will continue. And in fact, during his confirmation hearing before the Senate, Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Trump “was right” to take a “tougher stance on China”, although he also indicated his “disagreement” on the strategy of the Republican President “in many points”.

“The basic premise was correct,” he told senators of the firmness of the outgoing government. “We must face China from a position of strength, not of weaknessHe noted to note that this involved “working with the allies instead of denigrating them, participating and leading international institutions” instead of abandoning them.

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