Chinese ‘president for life’ Xi has upended relations with US, says Bill Clinton

During Donald Trump’s tenure, Sino-American relations have come under serious strain

File: Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping toast during a state luncheon for China in 2015 (AFP via Getty Images)

Former US president Bill Clinton says that Xi Jinping’s status as China’s “president for life" has altered the dynamic of relations between the world’s two leading economies.

Speaking as president-elect Joe Biden prepares to take power in the White House at a time of deeply strained relations with Beijing, Mr Clinton said the current state of affairs was not the fault of outgoing president Donald Trump alone.

“The old Chinese system, which was by no means a democracy, still guaranteed enough debate, and play, and openness because there was a regular rotation of leadership. Now that it appears that a person is in charge of China who intends to stay there for life, in essence, that changes things,” said Mr Clinton.  

At the same time, the US “shouldn’t accept or assume that it’s all going to be bad” without working to “make it better”, Mr Clinton said during a conversation with former British prime minister Tony Blair at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum.

Mr Clinton suggested the US could strengthen its position for dealing with China by bringing on board Asian and European partners. US diplomatic ties with its traditional western European allies have also loosened in the past four years.

Mr Xi led the Communist Party in abolishing term limits for Chinese presidents in February 2018, meaning he no longer needs to step aside in 2023 – or indeed, at all during his lifetime. He recently spoke about doubling the size of China’s economy by 2035, hinting at a long spell in power. 

Mr Clinton noted that there are “clear disagreements” between Washington and Beijing over many issues such as the upheaval of the legal system in Hong Kong or the treatment of Muslims in western China, but stressed on the importance of working together on global issues like climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.

During Donald Trump’s tenure, US-China relations have nosedived. Taking Mr Trump’s lead, many top American officials have framed China as the enemy in their public statements, whether on the issue of trade, handling Covid-19, security in the South China Sea or relations with China’s Asian neighbours like India.

Speaking about Joe Biden’s priorities once he assumes power, Mr Clinton suggested he would look at strengthening the US’s role in international organisations like the World Health Organisation and military alliances like Nato – efforts essentially in rebuilding American clout that has been eroded under Mr Trump.  

Mr Trump had also withdrawn the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, an action the president-elect has already vowed to reverse as soon as he comes to power.  

Mr Clinton said the new administration needs to be given a chance to achieve a “strategic partnership” which will “enable us to do good things together and try to minimise the bad things that we think will happen if we just walk away.”  

Mr Blair agreed and said the “big challenge with China” is to have a “strategic framework for dealing with China, rather than a series of ad hoc reactions to whatever the Chinese may be doing.”