Ma Yong

Ma Yong

Professor, The Belt and Road School, Beijing Normal University

Ma Yong is a professor at the Belt and Road School of Beijing Normal University. He is also the managing director and secretary-general of the International Politics Branch of the Beijing Association of Higher Education, as well as a council member of the Chinese Association for South Asian Studies and the international politics research committee of the China Association of Higher Education. His research interests include China's international strategy and relations with its periphery, non-traditional security issues, as well as global governance and peace.

US President-elect Joe Biden gestures to the crowd after he delivered remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, on 7 November 2020. (Angela Weiss/AFP)

Has Biden bared his fangs at China?

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga may have stolen a march on China by making an early move to secure President-elect Joe Biden’s support for any attack on the Senkaku islands or what the Chinese call Diaoyu islands. Even before he enters the White House, Biden seems comfortable reassuring Japan of America’s intention to uphold their commitments under the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. Will this make China more defensive on the one hand, and more eager to court Biden on the other?