The Biden Administration’s Climate Policy toward China

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the contemporary US-Chinese relations in the climate sphere and forecasting the prospects for their development in the near future. In the context of the evolution of the problem in the past, as well as taking into account the differences in approaches to the problem in the United States from the two leading parties and the most influential political and ideological groups, the authors investigate the causes of the aggravation of climate relations between Washington and Beijing. It is noted that having occupied the White House, the Democratic administration of J. Biden began to increase pressure on the Chinese government in order to force it to accelerate the passage of "green transit", i.e. the transition from the use of fossil fuels in the economy to renewable energy sources. It is assumed that such a strategy should slow down China's economic development, thus giving America time for internal reforms aimed at achieving its global "green" leadership, which, in turn, should ensure economic dominance in the post-crisis period. Tactically, the administration uses a "separate" methodology, i.e. declares the need to isolate from each other the climate and all other components of the Chinese policy of the United States. This approach is not supported by most political and ideological groups. Thus, the progressive wing of the Democratic Party insists on close climate cooperation with China, which implies a possibility of geopolitical concessions. Moderate Republicans ("realists") consider "constructive competition" with Beijing in the climate sphere possible. Conservatives are confident that China will not fulfill its promises, and therefore they advocate "climate realism", which means carrying out internal reforms in the United States only taking into account what has been done by other countries, primarily China. The neoconservative group demands to abandon climate pressure and rely on tough geopolitical steps against Beijing. It is concluded that disagreement within the ruling elite with Biden's Chinese policy will greatly complicate the approval of the climate reform program in Congress, therefore the "containment" of the PRC will be primarily economic and geopolitical in nature.