Tellingly, Biden has not delivered a single speech outlining his vision for U.S.-Chinese relations. At times tough but typically conciliatory, the administration’s flawed competition framing confuses means with ends, dodging altogether the difficult task of defining the United States’ desired end state vis-à-vis China. Regrettably, the Biden administration does not have a China policy-it has several that often conflict with one another. If Washington is to have any hope of reversing the communication breakdown, it’s time to consider replacing wishful rhetoric about coexistence and “ guardrails” with the only language Beijing truly understands: reciprocity. Indeed, relations will likely worsen as long as White House policies remain predicated on bumper-sticker foreign-policy slogans such as “competing to coexist” with China when Xi is clearly competing to win.
Today’s falling out has been two years in coming-and is merely a symptom, rather than the cause, of the downward spiral in U.S.-Chinese relations. Washington and Beijing’s communication breakdown should surprise no one. In other words: Don’t call us, and we may not even call you. “Communication should not be carried out for the sake of communication,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in March. Having exhausted every possible excuse, China recently acknowledged that it might not want to talk at all. All the while, Xi found time to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and host high-level diplomatic delegations from France, Germany, and Brazil. Indeed, it has been six months since the two leaders last spoke-in the interim, Beijing has blamed busy schedules and even balloons for the extended lapse in leader-to-leader engagement. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is ghosting U.S.
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