Biden talks with Chinese president, talks about Hong Kong and Uyghurs

Jerome Cortilier
France Media Agency

During this call, which came three weeks after arriving at the White House, Joe Biden indicated his desire to be much sharper than Donald Trump on human issues, as part of a continuation on economic issues.

He appealed for a more pragmatic approach to issues such as the climate neglected by his ancestors.

According to a report by a U.S. executive, the White House’s new tenant has expressed “deep concerns” about “repression in Hong Kong”, “human rights violations” in Xinjiang, and more imposing space in Beijing. This region, especially Taiwan.

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

This vast semi-desert region bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan is under police surveillance.

Beijing rejects the term “camps” and says they are professional training centers, intended to provide employment to the population and therefore to distance them from religious extremism.

In the rhetoric used by the previous administration, Joe Biden also condemned Beijing’s “unfair and coercive” economic practices, according to the White House.

Customs taxes do not change

If he clearly demonstrates his desire to break with Donald Trump’s foreign policy, US-China trade relations will be one of the few issues he could be part of as a relative continuation with his predecessor.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, emphasized that the new team had shared with previous members its desire to stand by Beijing in a “strategic rivalry” between the two great powers.

However, she identified “real problems” in the way the Trump administration approached the contest. And quoting America’s “weakening of alliances” or “the vacuum left in China-filled international institutions”.

The official reiterated on Wednesday that a customs tax on Chinese products held by Trump during his presidency is currently in effect and that a comprehensive review of U.S. trade strategy is pending.

“We have not made a decision on this file,” he said. “There will be changes in our trade policy with China, but they are not immediate and we are not eliminating customs duties at this time,” he said, stressing the White House ‘s desire to develop this strategy. Allies “.

In an interview aired on CBS on Sunday, Joe Bean warned that hostility between the United States and China would take the form of “intense competition” and that he wanted to avoid a “conflict” between the two countries.

When asked about his Chinese counterpart, he said: “He’s very tough. He’s not, I’m not criticizing this, it’s real, he’s not ounces of democracy.

As Vice President of Barack Obama between 2009 and 2017, he said that he was well aware that there were long private talks with him, “I’m going to handle this like Trump.”

Joe Biden did not intend to discuss the possibility of boycotting the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, according to a U.S. official who spoke before the call between the two leaders.

American elected officials introduced a draft resolution in the Senate in early February, calling on the International Olympic Committee to withdraw the Olympic Games organization from China “because of human rights violations.”