Overview of U.S. Foreign Policy towards China and Uncertainty under Donald Trump and Joe Biden Administrations

Abstract

In this paper, the author aims to investigate the U.S. foreign policy toward China and uncertainty under the Donald Trusmp and Joe Biden administrations. The United States has upheld the principle of the One China Policy for decades and stated that regarding cross-strait relations, the U.S. opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, does not support Taiwan region independence, and expects cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means. The geopolitical, economic, and technological challenges and opportunities will influence U.S.-China relations in the next decades. The various factors will be weighed when evaluating the future trajectories of US-China foreign policy between each country, domestic and external factors might have a greater impact on how the relationship of these countries will be in the future. The U.S. leaders’ approach to policy is pragmatic; China’s is conceptual. America has never had a powerful threatening neighbor; China has never been without a powerful adversary on its borders. Americans hold that every problem has a solution; the Chinese think each solution is an admission ticket to a new set of problems. Americans seek an outcome responding to immediate circumstances; the Chinese concentrate on evolutionary change. Americans outline policies of practical “deliverable” items; the Chinese set out general principles and analyses where they will lead. Chinese thinking goes along the Communism principles but embraces a traditional Chinese way of thought to an increasing extent; neither is intuitively familiar to Americans.