Biden admin's 'fixation' on China 'distracts' from the 'real threat' Russia, New York Times guest essay says

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America needs to ‘blunt and confront China’: Allen

Former Special Assistant to George W. Bush Michael Allen argues the U.S. needs to take a more aggressive stance on China and come up with tangible strategies to protect American interests.

A guest essay in the New York Times argued Monday that the Biden administration's "fixation" and posture on China would both make it more difficult to cooperate with Beijing and "distracts from the real threat" Russia. 

"Rather than cast China as our next great enemy, American security would be better served by the realization that Russia’s behavior only highlights the ways that China and the United States remain bound to each other despite their tensions. We should nurture rather than endanger these ties, which are crucial for both countries to remain prosperous, stable and secure," Zachary Karabell, founder of The Progress Network, wrote in an opinion piece headlined "Russia or China? The U.S. Has a Choice to Make."

The essay noted that China was a "more powerful adversary" than Russia and noted China's investment in its military, history of human rights abuses, free speech suppression, and more. 

"But these issues don’t necessarily make China a threat to American prosperity and security, not unless you believe in every antagonistic word coming from Chinese officials, every war plan devised by its military, and the inevitability of "the Thucydides trap" — the notion that emerging powers will tend toward conflict with established ones," Karabell continued. 

CHINA LAUNCHES MILITARY EXERCISES IN SOUTH CHINA SEA AS BIDEN VISITS ASIA

A New York Times guest essay suggested Monday that the Biden administration's posture on China distracts from Russia. Bikash Dware/The Rising Nepal via AP (Bikash Dware/The Rising Nepal via AP))

Karabell wrote that the Communist Party had been willing to engage with the U.S. diplomatically, adding that it "has repeatedly championed the inviolability of state borders and is not averse to self-interested compromise over issues like trade and climate change." 

He noted that China was very much "intertwined" with the global economy and in addition, the country "holds" over a trillion dollars of U.S. debt and in turn benefits from U.S. investments in China. 

These factors would play into the country's behavior "just as much as the possibility of a future confrontation with the U.S." would, the author argued. Russia, he said, is "constrained" by how far Vladimir Putin "is willing to go."

BIDEN WARNS XI OF ‘CONSEQUENCES’ IF CHINA SUPPORTS RUSSIA, WHITE HOUSE SAYS 

A New York Times opinion essay argued Monday that President Biden should lift Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods in an effort to work more with China. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

He contended that President Biden should figure out a way to work with China as opposed to "trying to coerce it to be different." 

Karabell said Biden should lift the tariffs former president Donald Trump put on Chinese goods in exchange for Beijing's "reduced support for Putin" and said that the president would miss out on being a "savvy, strategic president." 

Putin's invasion of Ukraine has raged on for about three months. The U.S. sent $40 billion in aid to Ukraine earlier in May. 

A New York Times guest essay argued Monday that President Biden should find a way to work with China. AP Photo/Evan Vucci (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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The president said on May 23 that he would keep his commitment to Taiwan if China moves to invade the country. The White House said that its policy on Taiwan "has not changed."

Biden said Monday that the U.S. wouldn't send rocket systems that could possibly reach Russia to Ukraine after some have raised escalation concerns.