On March 1, President Biden delivered his State of the Union address. His remarks focused primarily on Ukraine and also touched heavily on domestic issues. Regarding China, Biden called on Congress to pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act and said, “to compete for the best jobs of the future, we also need to level the playing field with China and other competitors.”
On March 1, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released its 2022 Trade Policy Agenda and 2021 Annual Report to Congress. One of the sections focuses on “re-aligning the U.S.-China trade relationship.” [Full Report]
On March 2, Senators John Kennedy (R-LA), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) introduced the “Deterring Communist Chinese Aggression Against Taiwan Through Financial Sanctions Act.” On March 1, a five-person delegation of former U.S. defense officials was sent by President Biden to Taiwan.
On February 28, White House official Kurt Campbell assured that the U.S. focus on the Indo-Pacific would continue while simultaneously responding to the Ukraine crisis. The Chinese state-run Global Times responded by calling this a “suicide mission for the U.S.”
On February 28, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke at a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Shanghai Communiqué. During his remarks, he emphasized the importance of the three communiqués, bilateral cooperation, and peaceful co-existence. [Full Remarks]
Referencing Ukraine during the same event, Jacob Lew, chair of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, cautioned, “China must decide where to stand and understand that bilateral relations with the U.S. will only become more strained in the absence of a clear choice to stand with international law.”