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US President Joe Biden wants to remedy the diplomatic shortsight of his predecessor Donald Trump. He certainly has his work cut out for him, especially in Asia. Biden is currently visiting the region, which will continue to be of geopolitical importance in the struggle between China and the United States for global leadership.
Consequently, Biden has cleared his calendar: After three days in South Korea, the US president landed in Japan on Monday – both democratic allies of the United States. Finn Mayer-Kuckuk closely followed Biden’s appearance in Tokyo and found that the US president’s trip can be summed up in one sentence: The US is looking for partners against China. To reach this goal, Biden relies on a mix of military strength and economic incentives.
The newly re-elected French President also has his eye on China. It is Emmanuel Macron who has repeatedly championed a united European stance toward the People’s Republic.
The French parliament will be re-elected in June – and a particularly controversial candidate with close ties to China is running in Paris: Buon Tan. Amelie Richter has taken a closer look at the driven entrepreneur and shows that there is a good reason why he is widely regarded as an extension of the Chinese Communist Party. Tan has even been in contact with Xi Jinping. The problem for French politics: Tan is also a close confidant of Emmanuel Macron.
Michael Radunski
Feature
Biden reiterates commitment to Taiwan
US President Joe Biden once again sharpened his tone on the Taiwan issue on Monday. While in Japan, he first promised general military aid to Taiwan in case of a Chinese invasion. When asked about a possible deployment of the US Army, Biden replied, “Yes, we have a commitment to do that“.
The US president had already made similar remarks last October (China.Table reported). At the time, the president’s reference to the “obligation” to protect Taiwan was also only made after a journalist asked him about it. Then, as now, a statement from his communications department came shortly afterward that the president’s statement was not to be understood as a change of course. The almost verbatim repetition of the process, however, suggests that the wording at the time was no accident.
Biden’s statement, however, gains its significance mainly against the overall picture of far-reaching new linguistic rules of US policy on the Taiwan issue. Only recently, the State Department changed the description of Taiwan on its website. The reference to “One China” was removed. A small but symbolic change.
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