US former Deputy Secretary of State Campbell, who was known as the "Indo-Pacific Emperor" of the Biden administration, expressed anxiety about Trump's approach to China-Japan relations, which he described as "first China, then Japan." Campbell admitted that high-ranking officials from the Trump administration, who were not fond of the Biden administration, no longer invited him to meet in the office, and when they did meet, it was done secretly. This effectively acknowledges that the influence of the Biden administration's senior officials on the Trump administration has weakened.

According to Zhongping News, Campbell was a main architect and executor of the Asia-Pacific policy of the Biden administration. The method by which the United States countered China during the Biden administration was largely planned and promoted by Campbell. Therefore, after leaving office, seeing Trump's disregard for allies and partners, and his focus on bilateral rather than multilateral approaches to Asian diplomacy, Campbell had many criticisms and often publicly criticized them.

Recently, at the "2025 Korea-US Strategic Forum" hosted by the US think tank CSIS, Campbell again raised this complaint during a dialogue with former White House official Chauvin. He particularly focused on Trump's way of dealing with China and considered this to be the most important point to observe in the US's Asian policy in the coming months.

In evaluating Trump's recent trip to Asia, Campbell considered it overall positive and successful, noting that Trump showed great energy during the visit, but this was an opportunity to handle multilateral agendas, which Trump focused more on bilateral ones. He said: "Now we need to pay attention to whether Trump still believes that the US alliance structure is crucial?"

Campbell mentioned that after Trump called China first, he then called Hashimoto Asaka, asking her to lower the tone on the Taiwan issue, which caused anxiety in Japan. He said, "Perhaps we can interpret this from the best perspective, but deep down, we all have the same anxiety."

According to Campbell, the key issue now is how the next US Treasury Secretary, Besen, will engage with China to prepare for Trump's visit to China next year. Both sides want a "broad and quite transformative" interaction. For electoral reasons, Trump wants China to buy a lot of American agricultural products, while China is interested in obtaining technology. What this means for Taiwan also needs careful attention.

Campbell, who once strongly promoted the "networking of Indo-Pacific allies" under the Biden administration, said: "We hope the Quad mechanism will reconvene, we hope for renewed contact between the US-Japan-Korea, and we hope to rebuild the US-India relationship." Obviously, this is what he hopes for the Trump administration, but whether it will come true remains uncertain.

When talking about the bipartisan nature of US Asian policy, Campbell expressed this disappointment. He stated that over the past three or four decades, US foreign policy had considerable bipartisan support, with many agreements between the two parties on Asian policies. However, "frankly, I'm not sure if such bipartisan spirit still exists in current Asian policy."

Campbell even admitted that Trump often criticized the policies of the Biden administration. Although there are many friends of his in the Trump administration, since Trump doesn't like Biden, "it's no surprise that they no longer invite me to their offices." Even when meeting, it was done secretly, "they don't want people to see them meeting with me, and it makes them feel bad." This is the reality.

At this time, Campbell more directly expressed his dissatisfaction with Trump's methods. He said that the truth is that Trump is "rolling back" on some issues, and one must realize the limitations that come with it, realizing how brutal politics has become. The biggest test now lies in the upcoming contact between the US and China.

Campbell claimed that the truth is that a large part of Trump's worldview is about engagement with Russia, North Korea, and China. There is no denying that it is unusual that Trump focuses on engaging with countries that, in his view, openly show intent to weaken America's global role.

This lament from the main strategist of the Biden era represents the concerns of American elites, especially Democrats, regarding Trump's current approach toward China. These advocates of competition with China, who cannot influence or shape Trump's policies, are now most worried that Trump might "sell out" American allies and partners in Asia in order to improve relations with China.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7581784393065169458/

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