June 23: The “Big Guy” and his grudges

In which, Tony Blinken attempts a reset with China while Biden snipes at Xi, Narendra Modi goes to Washington, and Hunter Biden’s laptop keeps turning up

Blinken in China

While China has been busy globe trotting and making its diplomatic presence (and weight) felt in numerous regions, tensions with the US have continued to mount. Whether it's the status of Taiwan, China’s human rights abuses, that pesky Covid origins story, trade, or China’s regional power moves (In Asia and closer to the US, in Cuba) there’s no shortage of flashpoints for the world’s two largest powers.

In an effort to “reset”  or thaw relations (where have we heard that before? Right, this time) with Beijing, President Biden dispatched Secretary of State Tony Blinken to China this last week.

It was high stakes diplomacy that succeeded in that it at least didn’t turn into Anchorage 2.0.

Beyond that, though, the trip came away with precious little in terms of any real understanding between the two powers on any major issues. No agreements or future efforts on tech, climate change, or defense (heck, the US and Chinese militaries are hardly communicating). 

Perhaps the biggest moment was Secretary Blinken essentially reversing the President’s (many) statements on Taiwan by affirming that the US policy position was “no independence,” much to the chagrin of Taiwan fire-eaters in Washington.

OK, so Blinken gets to China, meets with both the Foreign Minister and President Xi, and gets out again without causing a scandal. From a “PR politics” standpoint, this was a win… for about 48 hours.

No sooner does Blinken reaffirm a “one China” policy, the US Coast Guard sailed a ship through the Taiwan Straits (so, we’re still in the undefined status quo), and President Biden raised Chinese hackles by calling President Xi a dictator. 

Why would the President so quickly undermine Blinken’s diplomacy? Well, according to Hunter Biden, the “Big Guy” holds grudges…

The “Big Guy” and his grudges

That line about Biden and his grudges was a veiled threat Hunter Biden allegedly made to Chinese counterparts that came to light as part of the ongoing (albeit slow) investigation into Hunter’s confiscated laptop, illegal drug and gun activities, and the broader issue of alleged corrupt dealings between the Bidens and agents from other countries (notably, China and Ukraine).

When last we heard about the investigations and scandal swirling around Hunter Biden and his laptop, it was discovered/confessed that retired intelligence officers had colluded with Tony Blinken to promote the (false) story that Hunter’s laptop and its incriminating evidence were Russian disinformation.

This week, Hunter Biden pled guilty to misdemeanor tax and gun charges in a plea deal that saw him avoid jail time. In a world where January 6 rioters are getting the book thrown at them, a plea deal for criminal behavior involving drugs, guns, prostitutes and porn that avoided any kind of jail time struck many conservative observers as a miscarriage of justice, though others pointed out that even in the context of a plea deal Hunter didn’t get off lightly.

Does this finally settle the matter of Hunter’s laptop? Not by a long shot. Whistleblower claims about Hunter’s role in managing access to his powerful father and the alleged web of corruption that spun with foreign entities have yet to be fully addressed, and the noise surrounding those claims will only get louder as re-election season approaches.