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Yes. The Biden admin is creating a two-front war with Russia and China. I think a key to understanding their thinking is that they believe that the US is winni

Yes. The Biden admin is creating a two-front war with Russia and China. I think a key to understanding their thinking is that they believe that the US is winning wrt. Ukraine. And having solidified European allies, now is the time to use that momentum and full-on confront China. So you would end up with a broken Russia, a humiliated China, and another unipolar American moment like the 90es. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/10/12/biden-china-semiconductor-chips-exports-decouple/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/10/12/biden-china-semiconduct... Biden Is Now All-In on Taking Out China The U.S. president has committed to rapid decoupling, whatever the consequences. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/opinion/china-semiconductors-exports.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/opinion/china-semiconduct... We Are Suddenly Taking On China and Russia at the Same Time A battle over computer chips could have more long-term global impact than the Ukraine war.

ericmay 4y ago
> Yes. The Biden admin is creating a two-front war with Russia and China. It’s important to be clear here that this administration isn’t creating a two-front “war” or conflict with Russia and China but responding to egregious activities by both parties. It should also be noted that all of these moves have wide bipartisan support. Something like 99-1 senate votes and the like. Trump, a Republican, campaigned on being tough on China after the Obama administration and enacted punitive trade tariffs and the like. Republicans and Democrats campaign in states like Ohio where manufacturing was hollowed out that they’ll “be tough on China”. Western countries (Germany - Russia, U.S. - China) spent decades trying to open markets and provided peaceful dialog between countries while managing sore spots without conflict. Russia chose to invade Ukraine and disrupt emergent markets. China chose to become a dictatorship and engage in hard-line international policies. It’s important to remember this less as the US and western allies decoupling and more so responding to a decoupling that already occurred lead by both Putin and Jinping. You can know that this is the case because both leaders tell you that this is the case in their “rejection of the international order” or “American lead order” or similar rhetoric.
publicola1990 4y ago
Buy why and why now? Is there any significant change of circumstance w.r.t US-China relationships in the past 5 years which wasn't initiated by the US. It all sounds a bit like Treaty of Versailles like clamp down from the US.
- _djo_ 4y ago
  The answer to that is Xi Jinping, and the way he has not only adopted a level of personal power not seen by any Chinese leader since Mao but has shifted China's domestic and foreign policy in a much more authoritarian direction. This has included cutting back on what foreign firms can do, substantially increasing the rhetoric against Taiwan and making clear plans to prepare for an invasion, cracking down on Hong Kong and reversing the 'one country two systems' promise, and taking actions against the Uyghur minority that are so extreme as to arguably be genocide, amongst other actions. The West pretty universally believed in what the Germans called 'Wandel durch Handel', or change through trade, and the idea that China would become both wealthier and more liberal by becoming an ever more important player in global trade, and give up revanchist imperial ambitions like wanting to take over Taiwan. That has been shown to have been a false belief, as rather than moderating China became stronger and more authoritarian.
  - publicola1990 4y ago
    None of these seem a direct/targeted hostile act towards US. While many of these things are concerning, none of these seems like "crossing a red line" (for eg like USSR basing missiles in Cuba) as far as it relates to the US. It rather more feels like a policy stemming from ideological preference from Biden and US policy makers. Also has US expended all possible efforts to diffuse tensions and attempt rapprochment, because this policy seems like a one way steet. This present measures do seem a unilateral targeted hostile measure from the US, not even considering the interests of the allies of US. Atleast some of the other Asian nations wouldn't see things in such a black and white manner. Would South Korea, Singapore, even Japan think on the same stark lines as US on this?
    - 4y ago

ericmay 4y ago

> Yes. The Biden admin is creating a two-front war with Russia and China. It’s important to be clear here that this administration isn’t creating a two-front “war” or conflict with Russia and China but responding to egregious activities by both parties. It should also be noted that all of these moves have wide bipartisan support. Something like 99-1 senate votes and the like. Trump, a Republican, campaigned on being tough on China after the Obama administration and enacted punitive trade tariffs and the like. Republicans and Democrats campaign in states like Ohio where manufacturing was hollowed out that they’ll “be tough on China”. Western countries (Germany - Russia, U.S. - China) spent decades trying to open markets and provided peaceful dialog between countries while managing sore spots without conflict. Russia chose to invade Ukraine and disrupt emergent markets. China chose to become a dictatorship and engage in hard-line international policies. It’s important to remember this less as the US and western allies decoupling and more so responding to a decoupling that already occurred lead by both Putin and Jinping. You can know that this is the case because both leaders tell you that this is the case in their “rejection of the international order” or “American lead order” or similar rhetoric.

publicola1990 4y ago

Buy why and why now? Is there any significant change of circumstance w.r.t US-China relationships in the past 5 years which wasn't initiated by the US. It all sounds a bit like Treaty of Versailles like clamp down from the US.

_djo_ 4y ago
The answer to that is Xi Jinping, and the way he has not only adopted a level of personal power not seen by any Chinese leader since Mao but has shifted China's domestic and foreign policy in a much more authoritarian direction. This has included cutting back on what foreign firms can do, substantially increasing the rhetoric against Taiwan and making clear plans to prepare for an invasion, cracking down on Hong Kong and reversing the 'one country two systems' promise, and taking actions against the Uyghur minority that are so extreme as to arguably be genocide, amongst other actions. The West pretty universally believed in what the Germans called 'Wandel durch Handel', or change through trade, and the idea that China would become both wealthier and more liberal by becoming an ever more important player in global trade, and give up revanchist imperial ambitions like wanting to take over Taiwan. That has been shown to have been a false belief, as rather than moderating China became stronger and more authoritarian.
- publicola1990 4y ago
  None of these seem a direct/targeted hostile act towards US. While many of these things are concerning, none of these seems like "crossing a red line" (for eg like USSR basing missiles in Cuba) as far as it relates to the US. It rather more feels like a policy stemming from ideological preference from Biden and US policy makers. Also has US expended all possible efforts to diffuse tensions and attempt rapprochment, because this policy seems like a one way steet. This present measures do seem a unilateral targeted hostile measure from the US, not even considering the interests of the allies of US. Atleast some of the other Asian nations wouldn't see things in such a black and white manner. Would South Korea, Singapore, even Japan think on the same stark lines as US on this?
  - 4y ago