Biden Transition Faces Rocky Road While China Marches On

By Hu Xijin 

Global Times 

2020/11/24 16:18:40

Biden Trump Photo:VCG

The US General Services Administration informed Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Monday that the administration of US incumbent President Donald Trump is ready to begin the formal transition process. 

This indicates that the US will commence to "correct" its policies of the past four years. The incoming Biden administration is expected to adopt a different course in comparison to the Trump administration. This includes seeking international cooperation in the battle against COVID-19 pandemic, returning to the Paris Agreement, and discussing the possibility of rejoining the Iran nuclear deal.

We have witnessed the dramatic change of US policies during these turbulent years. Such changes have apparently undermined US national interests, and these cannot be completely healed by the upcoming adjustment. Even if the nails can be pulled out, the remaining holes in the wall will be hard to repair. Furthermore, it remains unclear what these new adjustments will mean in the long-run, and whether another round of dramatic changes will take place four years from now. 

The US tends to achieve a kind of balance by dramatic swing and confrontations. By contrast, continuity is the greatest strength of the Chinese political system. The two centennial goals were proposed decades ago and have been improving. China is the only country that has achieved a consistent and long-term national strategy.

Avoiding making disruptive mistakes is something China must be determined to do. China's biggest supervisory power is bound to be self-generated within the Party, and how to make it highly effective is a challenge. For this reason, it is important for the Party and government to listen to the voice of the people and seek inspiration for self-reflection during the process of having frictions with others. In recent years, China has not closed its door in a rage during its conflict with the US. But it instead insisted on opening up wider to the outside world. It has taken a very mature attitude to fight against the external forces and meanwhile conduct self-reform. 

China's strong will and ability to improve itself has been fully demonstrated during the trade war and the anti-pandemic fight. The battle was challenging at the beginning but later achieved decisive results. This greatly enhanced the confidence of the Chinese people in the face of the complex international landscape. 

The ultimate focus of the game between the great powers is the competition in the institutional capacity. China will surely do better and keep its development speed faster than that of other great powers for a long time to come.

The author is editor-in-chief of the Global Times. [email protected]