President of the United States, Joe Biden and the President of China, Xi Jinpingg, had the opportunity to meet recently as part of the summit Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) in San Francisco. For this reason, Max Baucuswho served as a senator and then ambassador to Beijing from 2014 to 2017 under the Obama administration, stressed the importance of the United States better understanding China’s posture on deterrence and, in particular, its “Undiscussed” position on TaiwanThis is stated in an interview published in the newspaper South China Morning Post.

According to Baucus, the main problem, besides the tension between both countries over the island’s sovereignty, is the lack of understanding and preconceived notions about China on the part of Americans. This “prevented the resolution of many bilateral problems” and instead allowed some American politicians apply certain measures.

In fact, for the former ambassador, the existing lack of knowledge is sometimes a “good thing” that made it possible to justify some decisions made without any reason. He explains that “many congressmen are new. They have no idea about Chinese history.” As a consequence, his actions are based on this lack of knowledge, a criticism that he also extends to his country’s legislators.

According to Baucus, extremely toxic climate derived from fears that China threatens world order established by the United States. It is this environment, in his opinion, that has given rise to various disagreements and misunderstandings, among which he cites restrictions on the Chinese company Huawei.

When the problem first arose, “Americans, especially politicians, were simply terrified of the possibility that Huawei would want build backbone technology connections and that they could spy on us,” Max Baucus told the South China Morning Post.

However, he emphasizes that when he asked about evidence of espionage, you received the answer: “…we are not required to provide evidence. All we can say is China [eso] That’s all we need to do.”

Regarding the current moment of technological competition between the US and China, the former diplomat believes that restrictions will increase in the future, although “trust” and “communication” are key points that can help resolve tense situations.