The Free World vs. China

With 1.4 billion consumers, China is a place with abundant potential. China also is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, a longtime belligerent which enslaves its own people, steals intellectual and tangible property, and flouts fundamental values like national sovereignty, free enterprise, democracy, and the rule of law around the world. While Congress has taken several small steps to restrain China this year, including passing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which bans products made with slave labor in China's Xinjiang region, the Biden Administration is failing to more directly confront China's aggression.

January 15th is the second anniversary of the U.S.-China "Phase One" trade deal negotiated by President Trump and provides an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of our approach to China. We have had some clear wins under the Phase One agreement, but President Biden's inaction could undo this progress even as we work to build on it. By signing the Phase One trade deal, China committed to increase market access for American goods across four sectors -- agriculture, services, manufacturing, and energy -- and make key reforms to practices damaging American businesses like intellectual property theft and currency manipulation.

Two years later, China is nowhere near fulfilling its obligations under Phase One. While the final numbers for December 2021 are not out yet, experts say between January 2020 and November 2021, Chinese imports of American goods reached only sixty percent of the Phase One target. China also failed to fulfill other commitments like instituting intellectual property reforms. On issues like Canadian dairy and European aircraft subsidies, America has not given our allies a free pass when they fail to meet their trade commitments; we certainly must not let the Chinese Communist Party off the hook.

Over the last several weeks, China has continued to antagonize nations around the world, conducting war games targeting democratic Taiwan, banning Lithuanian products and other European products containing Lithuanian components because of a diplomatic dispute, and provoking uncertainty about control of Uganda's only international airport. Negotiating trade agreements globally is a critical way for us and our potential partners to grow economically and counter China's influence. In addition to demonstrating the value of economic and political freedom to developing nations, these agreements ensure we have a seat at the table when China tries to exploit their influence. Restarting negotiations with Kenya, completing our trade agreement with Japan, and re-entering the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) are easy first steps the Biden Administration should be taking where much of the work has already been completed.

President Biden needs to stop watching and act. The President's foreign policy team has done little to take on China, and his administration is producing only outlines for action with no detail. That is not good enough. President Biden must also address China's blatant disregard for international trade laws by working to reform the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO was built to check nations like China when they cheat. However, as it stands now, with no functioning WTO dispute settlement process and the Biden administration declining to act, China is running rampant. Americans and the friends of freedom around the world cannot afford to wait.