US President Barack Obama promised on Wednesday to get tougher with China on enforcing trade rules, stepping up the tone amid rising friction between the two powers over Taiwan and Tibet.
Obama also hinted that he would take Beijing to task over the strength of its yuan currency, responding to growing restlessness in the US Congress over Chinese monetary policy as the US economy charts an uncertain recovery.
In a meeting with senators from his Democratic Party, Obama said he supported trade agreements with China, but urged the developing power to open its markets further to US goods.
“The approach that we are taking is to try to get much tougher about enforcement of existing rules,” Obama said.
He said what was needed was “putting constant pressure on China and other countries to open up their markets in reciprocal ways.
“One of the challenges we have got to address internationally is currency rates, and how they match up to make sure that our goods are not artificially inflated in price and their goods are artificially deflated in price,” he said.
Obama said an “even playing field” would create US jobs. In his first State of the Union address to Congress last week, Obama set an ambitious — some analysts say unrealistic — goal of doubling US exports in five years.
“If we just increased our exports to Asia by a percentage point, by a fraction, it would mean hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of jobs here in the United States,” Obama told the senators. “And it’s easily doable.”
Many policymakers in developed economies accuse China of keeping its yuan artificially low for the sake of its manufacturing industry, funding a flow of cheap exports around the world.
Senior US lawmakers from both parties have accused Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush of letting China off easy by refusing to declare it a currency manipulator, which would trigger US counter-measures.
“China is a big beneficiary of international trade, yet it fails to allow its currency to float freely,” said Senator Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Finance Committee.
“That’s not right for such a major economy, and American exporters are cheated as a result,” he said.
China has argued that its peg to the dollar offers stability in a rapidly changing economy and has warned in turn against US protectionism. China also says it has contributed to a global economic recovery with a US$585 billion stimulus package.
Obama pursued a conciliatory stance toward China in his first year, hoping to develop broad cooperation with the rising power and arguing that the two nations together would help shape the 21st century.
But the Obama administration last week approved a US$6.4 billion arms package to Taiwan. China, which had warned against the sale, snapped military ties with the US and threatened to blacklist US companies involved.
Another row is brewing as Tibetan spiritual leader in exile the Dalai Lama prepares to visit Washington from Feb. 17.
The White House has said that Obama will meet him, despite China’s appeals.
The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, is widely respected in the US for his spiritual teachings.
China accuses the Dalai Lama of separatism, although he says he accepts Chinese rule and is only seeking greater rights for Tibetans.
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military