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00:00What is your initial assessment of this coordination seeming coordination that we're seeing on a number of fronts at the international level to push back on China. Well China's behavior in the at the start of the Biden administration has a lot of countries worried. And the G7 will be an important meeting for considering what to do about that from the standpoint. President Biden. He's going to want a show of unity that will be the most important thing more important than the specific contents of his statements or decisions on joint DAX specific joint action. What he won't want to see is any news stories about divergence in the approach of the other G7 countries and the United States. Well that's a crucial point. Ian Bremmer from Eurasia Group has stressed that he thinks that the Europeans are far away from aligned with DC on the question of China. Is he right. Are we seeing closer alignment between Brussels Brussels and Washington. Well I think the U.S. position really depends a lot on what our friends and allies believe. So it's still fairly open ended. I think there are many people working in the Biden administration who want to stabilize relations with China. They want to coexist. They don't want to just confront in the way the Trump administration did. So although there's a lot of suspicion of China including at the public opinion level in the United States and certainly in Congress the goal is really to co-exist and stabilize relations. And one way to do that is by having a common front with our friends and allies. But separately Susan they will need to deal with China on their own on some other issues for example. So I guess my question is yes you have a united front in the G7 and China on the other side. But then after the summit and everyone goes home then they have to deal with the blowback. Well certainly China made quite clear when it sanctioned a bunch of Europeans including private individuals and research organizations that it intends to retaliate against criticism of Chinese positions and the in origin issue is particularly toxic. So and of course today they just passed a law in the National People's Congress that gives them the formal legal authority to retaliate in that way. So you know I think there are. But I think the importance of the common front is that it enables countries to act stand together against that kind of retaliation from China. Understood. And what do you think happens to take us through scenarios on on on this likely investigation that might come of course on the origins of cool. So let's say we take that path. What happens a few months down the road. Well you know I think calling for. An investigation. It is a very reasonable step to take. The question is if there is threat toward China that if they don't do that X Y and Z might happen. And but if the G-7 calls for an investigation at the W H O level or calls for some changes in W.H. rules for the future that require sharing of information which I think would be a good thing to do then it'll be very very difficult for China to retaliate. On the other hand I think there are almost no possibility that they will actually do what the G7 is calling for because the issue the question of the origins of covered have become something like the third rail in Chinese politics both domestically and internationally. Rights become another red line and of course an obvious red line is Taiwan. We know that they're moving ahead the US and Taipei with talks around a trade pact. Is that sensible and smart policy though Susan given the limited economic benefits for both sides. But the potential political fallout. Oh I think I think trade agreements with Taiwan are definitely a good thing to do. I mean there's absolutely no reason that Taiwan as an economy should not have the opportunity to make trade agreements. After all it is in the World Trade Organization. So there's a precedent for doing this. It's very different in my view than a provocative step like inviting Taiwan's president to come and give a speech in the United States or other kind of elevation of the treatment of Taiwan or making a hard security commitment to defend Taiwan. So those actions will be I think a lot more provocative standards. Trade agreement. OK meanwhile trade talks between the US and China are continuing with Gina Raimondo and her Chinese counterpart one win. How do you expect to be able to keep these trade conversations on a separate track to what's happening on the human rights front and the corporate 19 front. Well I think that's the intention of both countries. So I believe they'll be able to do that. And I think they'll be desirable to show some progress on some of the structural issues in the Chinese more state dominated economy now. And that might help build some positive momentum in the overall relationship. So you know if Xi Jinping and the Chinese leadership have a pragmatic appreciation of China's national interests I think they would want to do that.

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Biden Wants a Show of Unity Against China: Shirk

Susan Shirk, research professor and chair at 21st Century China Center, discusses her assessment of the coordination of G-7 members to push back on China, the relationship between the U.S. and China and the investigation into the origins of covid-19. She speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: China Open.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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