Biden still clinging to toxic legacy of his predecessor by blocking normal exchanges: China Daily editorial

If US President Joe Biden really meant what he said that he is willing to work with China to avoid conflict, his administration needs to show more respect to China's core concerns and improve mutual understanding to prevent miscommunication and miscalculation.

That should include not creating any hindrances to normal exchanges between the two sides.

Yet, while calling for China's cooperation on climate change and other issues, the Biden administration is still citing the presidential proclamation issued by his predecessor, which Beijing described as "stark political persecution and racial discrimination" upon its issuance, to block normal people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

That the presidential proclamation his predecessor issued in May last year is being quoted by US embassies to justify their rejection in recent months of visas of more than 500 Chinese students to study for graduate degrees in science and engineering in the United States shows the true color of Biden's "America is back" claim.

It means that although America may be back to some extent to please its allies, its China policy is still infected with the toxicity imparted to it by the previous administration.

In June 2019, then US president Donald Trump acknowledged that China has many excellent students, and said he welcomed Chinese students to study in the US. In March last year, he again reassured China that the US administration recognized the importance of Chinese students and would protect them.

However, less than two months later, Trump signed the aforementioned presidential proclamation denying visas to Chinese students and researchers on the unsubstantiated grounds that they were being used by China as "non-traditional collectors of intellectual property".

The Biden administration obviously feels no qualms about exposing its readiness to uphold that stance and generalize its China containment policy across all spectra of Sino-US ties.

There are more than 300,000 Chinese students studying in the US today. They and the millions before them have played an important role in promoting exchanges and deepening mutual understanding between the two countries. That's why they have often been high on the agenda at leaders' meetings and talks between the two countries.

Shutting its door to Chinese students is against the common interests of the two sides, which need to address their mutual trust deficit more than at any other time in recent history.