Washington forced to reconsider China policy

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that authorizes billions of dollars in assistance for Ukraine. And Biden is expected to announce more military assistance to Ukraine as early as Wednesday.

Interestingly, it seems that the US cannot get rid of its anxieties that the conflict it has engineered in Ukraine is pushing China and Russia even closer together. Washington continues to allege that China is providing Russia with military assistance, although Beijing has consistently rebutted the claim.

Even though it is its global geopolitical games that have triggered the conflict, Washington is now suffering a paroxysm of anxiety that it may be the odd man out in the tripartite balance of power.

So in seeking to weaken Russia and pull the rug out from under the European Union's feet Washington is also having to adjust its China policy. China is well aware of what the US wants from it. But that requires a quid pro quo.

As such, it is easy to understand why the Rome meeting between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi lasted for seven hours, much longer than would be necessary to just reiterate their respective stances.

There was some horse-trading taking place.

With Yang making clear that Washington must stop meddling in the Taiwan question if it wants to strike any kind of deal with China.

It is Russia' unyielding fights on both military and economic fronts that has spurred Washington to reach out to Beijing in Rome.

That the two sides, both closely following the development of the Ukraine crisis, said they will keep the exchange channel open shows the two sides haven't come to an agreement yet but that there clearly remains room for the two countries to do so.

Due to their lack of mutual trust, it remains to be seen what will unfold.

For Beijing it is a difficult balancing act as it has an opportunity to get something it wants from Washington but at the same time it does not want to jeopardize the geopolitical benefits of its "no-limits" cooperation with Russia.

But whatever the outcome, the Rome meeting should have left the secessionists in Taiwan with no doubt that Washington's support for the folly of their cause is nothing but an expendable bargaining chip.