| Summary/Abstract |
Human rights has been a contentious issue in US-China relations from their very beginning. In the early years the issue
was one-way, with Washington constantly criticizing political, legal, and social inequities in Mao’s China. China has
fought back, pointing to deficiencies in the US system while
proceeding in recent years to implement a large-scale program of detention and incarceration targeting Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. Neither the United States nor any other
country or international organization can compel adherence
to human rights norms in China. But setting an example of
such adherence does get noticed, and if a president Biden
aligns with Black Lives Matter, respects the rule of law, refuses to endorse dictators, and urges the US Senate to approve
and ratify all the UN conventions on human rights, he might
be more persuasive in urging Beijing to change its direction
on human rights. But this is only conceivable if pursued in
the context of a new US policy of competitive coexistence
with China, and not strategic confrontation
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