We need a reset in US-China relations

onebyone · Jun 25, 2022

Henry approved of their talking a decade ago and he'd approve now. Vice President Joe Biden talks with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger during a luncheon at the State Department, in Washington, DC, February 14, 2012. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann

According to a survey of more than 300 American companies operating in China conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai from mid-June to mid-July 2021, 60 percent reported increased investment compared with 2020.

This intensification of Sino-American economic ties is driven by the decisions of millions of American consumers and thousands of American businesses in the marketplace. It points to a natural co-evolution of the American and Chinese economies that governments should foster rather than try to frustrate.

The US Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, stated on June 9 that US-China relations are at their “lowest moment” since 1972. Yet some prominent American voices are trying to steer America away from confrontation with China.

There is a growing recognition in the United States that strategic confrontation with China would lead to disaster. American hawks claim that China is poised to reunite Taiwan with the mainland by force and propose military measures to stop this alleged aggression. In response, the historian Niall Ferguson wrote in Bloomberg on June 5, “Dust Off That Dirty Word Détente and Engage With China.” Ferguson said:

In April 2017, China’s exports to the United States ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $430 billion. In April 2022, this rate had increased to $644 billion, an increase of 50%. US companies continue to increase investment in China. According to US data, American FDI in China rose 9.4% in 2021 versus 2020.