INTERNACIONAL
Biden’s China strategy ‘detrimental’ as ‘international system is breaking down,’ experts say
The Biden administration’s policy of trying to play friendly with China has yielded few material gains, and the U.S. has failed to capitalize upon what little concessions it has gotten, experts told Fox News Digital.
«The one thing that we’ve got is time,» Gordon Chang, Gatestone Institute senior fellow and China expert, explained. «The United States is not ready to defend itself and its allies and partners, and by appeasing China we have bought a little bit of time.
«Biden has bought time, and the Pentagon has done nothing. It hasn’t done as much as it’s needed to do, so we have wasted time. … Apart from that, I don’t think we’ve gotten very much.
«Clearly, the United States is no longer deterring China as we once did, so this is the time to change a policy that has worked but is no longer sufficient in today’s setting.»
BIDEN ADMIN FAILING TO TRACK CHINESE OWNERSHIP OF US FARMLAND: GOVT WATCHDOG
President Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 leaders’ summit in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 14, 2022. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)
President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2022 held their first face-to-face meeting since Biden took office while attending the G-20 summit in Indonesia. Last year, Xi visited the U.S. for the first time since 2018 and met with Biden in San Francisco on the sidelines of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference.
Xi and Biden agreed to military-to-military communications and aggressively tackle the manufacture and distribution of fentanyl, which largely originates in China and Mexico. Nearly all «precursor chemicals» needed to produce fentanyl originate in China, according to The Associated Press.
Last week, Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos about the administration’s progress with China.
«The United States is competing with China across multiple dimensions, and we make no bones about that. But we are not looking for confrontation or conflict. And we are seeking to manage that competition responsibly, intensifying diplomacy to reduce the risk of miscalculation,» Sullivan said.
Sullivan also highlighted the recent meeting between the two leaders and noted the resumption of military-to-military communications, claiming the move was «good for our relationship but also for regional and global stability. It will help reduce the risk of unintended conflict.»
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan addresses the assembly at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos Jan. 16, 2024. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
Yet critics like Chang harbor major criticism of the Biden administration for not taking action in response to the many deaths from COVID-19 and fentanyl, both originating in China. Over 1.1 million Americans died from the pandemic, according to numbers published in April 2023, and over 73,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses in the U.S. in 2022.
TAIWAN ELECTION: RULING PARTY CANDIDATE WINS TIGHTLY CONTESTED PRESIDENTIAL RACE, UPSETTING CHINA’S AMBITIONS
«To me, it’s incomprehensible that we would allow this, but we have allowed the killing of Americans in great numbers,» Chang said.
Critics and analysts had also expected stronger action from Biden following a tumultuous year for China-U.S. relations. The U.S. caught China sending spy crafts into sovereign American airspace, and China increased its incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
In this photo provided by Chad Fish, a large balloon drifts above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, Feb. 4, 2023. (Chad Fish via AP)
The Biden administration instead has spent time ramping up military drills with regional allies and strengthening ties with partners like Australia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.
Japan this week agreed to buy 400 U.S.-made long-range Tomahawk missiles, just one day after holding a massive naval drill with both the U.S. and South Korea in a show of force against North Korea. But China will have paid attention to such a demonstration.
CHINA CONDEMNS PHILIPPINES AFTER PRESIDENT CONGRATULATES TAIWAN ELECTION WINNER
Matt McInnis, senior fellow for the Institute for the Study of War’s China program, told Fox News Digital he would hesitate to label the Biden administration’s total approach to China as one of appeasement, but he argued that the White House does show «too much concern about provoking China.»
«The Biden administration has continued many of the policies of the Trump administration on China and is actually taking some strong steps in many areas with China, but I do think that inherent fear of provocation is setting us up — especially this year — for some concessions that are going to be detrimental.»
The Taiwanese navy launches a U.S.-made standard missile from a frigate during the annual Han Kuang Drill on the sea near the Suao navy harbor in Yilan county July 26, 2022. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)
In addition to the spy balloon incident and a lack of significant U.S. response, the U.S. has not managed to convince China to curb North Korea, which continues to make greater and greater shows of force as the hermit kingdom’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un seeks to establish his country as a legitimate world power.
Chang argued that the soft touch with China has allowed the international system to break down as «bad actors now feel they can do what they want.» He cited the escalating tensions last week between Iran and Pakistan as an example.
CHINA’S POPULATION FALLS AGAIN AS RECORD-LOW BIRTHS POSE ECONOMIC STRAINS
Chang criticized the Biden administration’s policy of «strategic ambiguity,» which administration spokespeople have cited in a variety of responses regarding America’s approach to China.
«Strategic ambiguity» sees America oscillating between clear support for the One China Policy, which necessitates opposition to Taiwan’s independence, even as the Pentagon continues to arm Taiwan and prepare it for possible invasion.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo with delegates during the closing day of the BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Center Aug. 24, 2023, in the Sandton district of Johannesburg, South Africa. (Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)
Both China and North Korea have provided backdoor support for Russia, with North Korea providing basic munitions in a bid to obtain more advanced weapons from Moscow. China reiterated support for Russia after the failed Wagner mercenary rebellion against the Russian Ministry of Defense over disagreements regarding progress in Ukraine.
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China has also only emboldened Iran, which has continued to push its proxies in the Middle East and fund their attacks against American military assets and allies in the region.
While the Iran-backed Houthis double down on their attacks against international commercial ships in the Red Sea, China looks to fold Iran into the BRICS economic bloc and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
«The more we restrict ourselves, that is going to set new norms that China can exploit and pressure us,» McInnis said. «We end up deterring ourselves and not getting much in return for it.»
INTERNACIONAL
Al menos 25 muertos en nuevo accidente de carretera en Bolivia: suman más de 60 víctimas desde el sábado en la misma región
Al menos 25 personas murieron este lunes en Bolivia cuando un bus de pasajeros se desbarrancó y rodó por una pendiente de unos 500 metros luego de impactar con una camioneta en Potosí, en el sur del país, informó la Fiscalía.
Es el segundo accidente con un elevado número de víctimas en tres días. El sábado murieron 37 ocupantes de dos autobuses que chocaron de frente también en Potosí, durante las fiestas de Carnaval.
El nuevo siniestro se produjo en la carretera Oruro-Potosí, en la localidad de Las Leñas, unos 90 kilómetros al norte de la ciudad de Potosí. El choque frontal de los vehículos dejó «como saldo 25 personas fallecidas y 26 heridas», precisó el Ministerio Público en un comunicado.
Las autoridades presumen que el conductor de la camioneta, que se encuentra internado en un centro de salud cercano, fue el responsable del siniestro luego de invadir el carril contrario.
«Está en el hospital (…) con custodio policial porque ya ha sido aprehendido por la Fiscalía», detalló a la AFP Limberth Choque, vocero de la policía.
Todos los fallecidos eran ocupantes del bus que se desbarrancó, añadió.
Según reportes policiales, el vehículo de pasajeros había partido desde Oruro, donde el fin de semana se celebró el Carnaval de Oruro, una de las fiestas más grandes de América Latina, que recibe cada año a decenas de miles de personas.
INTERNACIONAL
Delegation of hostages released by Hamas traveling to DC to meet with Trump admin officials
A group of seven people who were freed from Hamas’ captivity are traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with U.S. officials.
Eli Sharabi, Doron Steinbrecher, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Omer Shem Tov and Iair Horn will meet with officials from the Trump administration, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters.
The released hostages will express their gratitude to the Trump administration for the president’s commitment to bringing all the hostages home.
The group will provide firsthand testimony about their experiences in Hamas’ tunnels.
WHITE HOUSE BACKS ISRAEL’S DECISION TO HALT GAZA AID SHIPMENTS UNTIL HAMAS ACCEPTS CEASEFIRE EXTENSION
Israeli captive Eli Sharabi, who had been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP)
The delegation will stress to government officials about the need to require Hamas to return all remaining hostages immediately in a single phase.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Sunday with Sharabi.
«I deeply appreciate the courageous way you are sharing your experience, and it is also important that you share it with President Trump,» Netanyahu told him. «Our goal is to bring all the hostages home – and we will not relent for a moment.»
Sharabi replied that he was glad to be home and reunited with his family, but emphasized that «the remaining hostages, especially those who are still alive, must return home to their families urgently.»
«And of course, the fallen hostages, including my brother Yossi, must be brought back for burial in Israel so that their families have a grave to mourn at,» Sharabi said.
ISRAEL AGREES TO TRUMP ENVOY’S TEMPORARY GAZA CEASEFIRE EXTENSION PROPOSAL AS FIRST PHASE EXPIRES: REPORTS
Keith Siegel, accompanied by his wife Aviva (on his left), disembarked from a military helicopter at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center on February 1, 2025. (Getty Images)
On Sunday, Israeli officials announced that they are stopping the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip and warned Hamas it would face «additional consequences» if it does not accept a new proposal for an extended ceasefire. An Israeli official said the decision to suspend aid was made in coordination with the Trump administration.
The White House backed the move by Israel, saying that the Jewish State has «negotiated in good faith since the beginning of this administration to ensure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorists.»
The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, which included an uptick in humanitarian assistance, expired on Saturday. The two sides have not yet negotiated the second phase, in which Hamas was called to release dozens of remaining hostages in return for an Israeli pullout and a permanent ceasefire.
Israeli officials also said on Sunday that they support a proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover, or April 20. They said the proposal came from the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on February 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)
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Under that deal, Hamas would release half the hostages on the first day and the remainder when an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, according to Netanyahu’s office.
In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli also pulled back forces from most of Gaza and allowed a surge of humanitarian aid to enter the region.
The war began when Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing roughly 1,200 people and abducting more than 251. Hamas still has 59 hostages, 32 of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel’s offensive into Gaza in response to Hamas’ attack has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run government’s Gaza Health Ministry. It does not specify how many of the dead were terrorists or civilians.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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