China’s increasing anti-American rhetoric points to their challenge to the international order

The Biden administration is trying to reduce tensions with China and “put a floor” under the relationship. Although China’s leaders profess to want the same end, their actions tell a different story. This gap between what China says and does is widening, presenting a vexing problem for the United States.

The Biden team is busily engaging with Chinese government officials in pursuit of a follow-up meeting between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping after their summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November. The goal, as national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on CNN on Sunday, is “to manage the competition responsibly, to ensure that competition does not become conflict.” But there are mounting signs that China’s leaders are uninterested in improving U.S.-China relations at the moment — and might see benefits in ramping up tensions.

This dynamic was on full display last weekend at a major international conference in Singapore. In a sophisticated if not convincing speech, China’s defense minister, Gen. Li Shangfu, attacked the United States (which he repeatedly referred to with the phrase “some country”) as the source of all the world’s ills, while presenting China as a more reasonable alternative regional power.

“We practice multilateralism and pursue win-win cooperation. Some countries, however, take a selective approach to rules and international laws,” he told the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, later adding, “Some country has willfully interfered in other countries’ internal affairs and matters ... and frequently resorted to unilateral sanctions, incursion with force.”

Li, who is under U.S. sanctions, accused the United States of everything from “hegemony of navigation” to “sowing discord among us and fanning the flame” of chaos and instability. China, he said, offered peace, stability, cooperation and protection from the evil Americans.

“As the lyrics of a well-known Chinese song goes, when friends visit us, we welcome them with fine wine. When jackals or wolves come, we will face them with shotguns,” he said.

Several attendees told me Li’s presentation to Asian countries of China as a benign and benevolent power is undermined by his country’s actions around the region. For example, Li claimed that China was committed to resolving maritime disputes “in a peaceful manner through negotiations and consultation.” The day before, a Chinese warship had conducted a dangerous maneuver that almost caused a collision with a U.S. ship transiting the Taiwan Strait.

Pressed for an explanation, Li defended the action. He warned the U.S. military to stay far away from China’s shores and “mind your own business.”

In another contradiction, Li said “only enhancing dialogue and communication … will ensure stability in our region” — but he refused to meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was also at the conference. Li was happy to meet with many other foreign officials, but he would only shake hands with his U.S. counterpart.

To be sure, many leaders in Asia might be sympathetic to China’s pitch as an alternative power — or at least willing to overlook its contradictions in favor of the benefits of partnership with China.

“The contradiction of the Chinese position is claiming to uphold a form of the international order, while not doing so in practice and heavily hinting they don’t want to do it in theory either,” said James Crabtree, executive director of IISS-Asia. “This vexes Western observers but might not bother everyone in the region.”

But some Asian leaders at the conference bristled at Li’s claims that Beijing promises to resolve regional issues through talking. Many countries see China’s policies in the South China Sea as aggressive, not constructive. Philippines coast guard spokesman Jay Tarriela confronted Li, pointing out that “while China is talking about dialogue, its actions show confrontation.”

The fact that Beijing is ramping up its anti-U.S. rhetoric while doubling down on its bad behavior is ominous. Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the German Marshall Fund’s Indo-Pacific program, told me that Li’s speech was essentially a message that China wants the United States to leave the region, not a sign Beijing wants to work to stabilize the relationship.

“The Chinese have made it pretty clear that they believe the presence of risk will induce caution in U.S. behavior so they won’t talk to us about risk reduction,” she said. “They are going to keep increasing the risk. That may temporarily induce caution, but they are not going to drive the U.S. out of the region.”

In other words, Beijing’s demands for maintaining a smooth U.S.-China relationship are now so extreme that there’s no way any U.S. administration could give in to them. That would require the United States to abandon Taiwan, forget about the Uyghur genocide and halt efforts to stop China’s unfair trade practices, for a start.

There are some signs the Biden administration is trying to minimize confrontation with China on these issues — to entice Beijing back into high-level dialogue. Seeking meaningful engagement with China’s leaders is always a good idea, but it is not as important as winning the competition and maintaining U.S. leadership in Asia.

The best the administration can do under these circumstances is bolster its alliances, stay active and present in Asia, stand up for American interests and values, and leave the door open for Beijing. But it takes two to tango, and China’s stance indicates that things will likely get worse before they get better.