The writer is a freelance journalist.

With the US decision to diplomatic boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, tensions between China and the US are mounting again. The White House has announced that it will not send an official delegation to the Games due to concerns over alleged human rights violations in the communist country. This decision once again dashed hopes for a complete normalization of relations between the two world powers.

Statements from US officials and politicians indicate they want to go further. White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who confirmed the boycott, added that Washington would not be contributing to the “fanfare” of the Olympics. Accusing China of committing gross human rights violations and atrocities in Xinjiang, she said the US government did not consider it the right measure to penalize athletes who were training at the moment, but that ‘he was not sending an official US delegation to the 2022 Games. “Could send a clear message.”

China was quick to respond. Its embassy in Washington called the boycott “a serious distortion of the spirit of the Olympic Charter”. “Reuters” quoted embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu as saying, “No one would care whether these people come or not, and it has no impact on the success of the Winter Olympics in 2022 in Beijing “.

Liu added that no invitation had been extended to American politicians, claiming that this diplomatic boycott just came out of nowhere. The Chinese Foreign Ministry also appeared furious. “The United States should stop politicizing sports and promoting the so-called ‘diplomatic boycott’ so as not to affect Sino-American dialogue and cooperation in important areas,” the Chinese ministry spokesman said. Foreign Affairs Minister Zhao Lijian at a press conference.

The decision was expected as President Joe Biden told reporters last month that he was considering a diplomatic boycott. The Biden administration had come under pressure for hardening the country’s trade rival. It is perhaps because of this pressure that the Democratic government is reluctant to lift a number of sanctions imposed by the Trump administration. The boycott is backed by US politicians and influential lobbies, who wanted Beijing to receive a hard lesson on its alleged human rights violations. This is the second boycott of the Games that the United States has carried out. The administration of former President Jimmy Carter, who described human rights as one of his administration’s main concerns when in power, boycotted the Olympics in 1980.

Relations between the United States and China have not always been cordial. The communist country faced severe sanctions after the 1949 revolution. Washington did not recognize the socialist government for decades, but Sino-Soviet tensions brought China and the United States closer together during the decade of the United States. 1970s, leading to recognition of the People’s Republic of China by Washington. This has helped China modernize its economy as the country has attracted large-scale American and Western investment.

American businesses rushed to take advantage of the liberal economic policies that socialist China adopted during the decade of the 1980s. Cheap labor and a conducive business environment were some of the other attractions that have been found prompted American and Western companies to relocate their manufacturing and assembly plants there.

China’s inclusion in the World Trade Organization (WTO) further boosted its economy, giving it an advantage over the United States in manufacturing. Economists believe that since China’s inclusion in the world trade body, more than 55,000 US manufacturing plants have been closed because the Chinese could produce goods at a much lower price than their US competitors.

This sparked resentment in sections of the American working class who have lent their support to erratic United States politician Donald Trump, who has pledged a number of measures to bring American corporate factories back to the country. He announced sweeping concessions for American companies, encouraging them to invest in the larger economy that was once the hub of manufacturing. Trump has also imposed a number of sanctions on China, in addition to increasing tariffs on Chinese products.

With Biden’s rise, reason was expected to prevail and the two giant economic powers to reconcile their differences, but it appears Washington is in no rush to completely normalize its relations with Beijing. Like the hawks under Trump, the anti-Chinese elements of the Biden administration speak out against the communist country. The US security establishment views China as a deadly enemy. CIA Director William Burns described the Chinese leadership as antagonists and predators who pose a great geopolitical threat to Washington’s interests. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines went further, saying China is not only a challenge to the security of the United States, but also to its prosperity and values.

It is not only these officials, but high-ranking figures in the US administration – and even the most senior figures – also appear to be creating the bogeyman for the Chinese threat, claiming to be making intense efforts to deal with the threat. . A while ago Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin revealed that Washington is focused on its efforts to counter the challenge posed by Communist China. Biden also spoke of the growing competition the United States faces with China in trade, political influence, and technology. His administration followed the same hard-line policies against Beijing that Trump introduced, in addition to flexing military muscles in the Pacific and raising cries of joy over alleged human rights violations.

But despite this, many believe that the ongoing tensions or a possible confrontation between China and the United States is unrealistic because the two countries are highly dependent on each other. According to the US Trade Representative’s office, US trade in goods and services with China totaled about $ 615.2 billion in 2020. Exports amounted to $ 164.9 billion; imports amounted to $ 450.4 billion. The United States ‘trade deficit for goods and services with China was $ 285.5 billion in 2020. China remained the United States’ largest trading partner with $ 559.2 billion in total trade (two-way) of goods in 2020.

Merchandise exports totaled $ 124.5 billion; imports of goods totaled $ 434.7 billion. The United States ‘trade deficit with China was $ 310.3 billion in 2020. Despite all the anti-China rhetoric, the Communist country was the United States’ third-largest merchandise export market in 2020, when ‘it was also its largest supplier of merchandise imports in 2020.

The two countries have the possibility of expanding their cooperation. China appears to have a gargantuan appetite for energy resources, LNG being one of them. The communist country produces gas, but it is still dependent on imports.

According to Nikos Tsafos of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “In 2016, over 9% of US LNG went to China, and China ranked third among US customers. China retained this position in 2017, receiving nearly 15% of the United States. But over the years that number has dropped to zero due to the trade war. It’s not just about LNG, but the two countries are highly dependent on each other in other areas as well. For example, in 2015, foreign inputs accounted for 12.2% – or about $ 2.2 trillion – of total goods and services consumed in the United States.

China was the largest contributor of these foreign inputs, while US producers of textiles, electronics, base metals, and machinery also depend heavily on China for intermediate and final products. In view of this, it is important that the two economic engines of the global economy act with caution, avoiding tensions under either pretext as this could be catastrophic not only for the two largest economies but also for the global economy.

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