Editor's note: Hamzah Rifaat Hussain is a former visiting fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington and serves as assistant researcher at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) in Pakistan. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On Tuesday in Tokyo, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for stronger and more comprehensive economic and security ties with Japan. The meeting featured Blinken accompanied by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and was a follow up from the virtual Quad summit, which featured veiled references to tackling Beijing's perceived expansionism. This time around, subjects such as freedom of navigation in the South and East China Sea and securing semi-conductor supply chain security were on the agenda.

This continuation makes it critical for Biden administration officials to downplay the so-called China threat and focus on actual issues warranting immediate attention. Antony Blinken's remarks to the American staff at the embassy in Tokyo were about equating alliances with peace, security and prosperity in the region. Alongside talks of denuclearizing of the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi openly stated at the start of his bilateral meeting with Lloyd Austin that both sides will deliberate upon options to tackle China's movements in the East and South China Sea and mull over strategies to deter and dissuade what Tokyo and Washington views as provocations by Beijing. One needs to just hark back into recent history to unearth the irony of such sweeping statements.

It was the presence of carriers such as the Theodore Roosevelt predating the activities of the People's Liberation Army and the air force which was the original source of the problem. The U.S. carrier group passing through the south of the Pratas Islands, approximately 310 km southeast of Hong Kong is a classic case of how fraught diplomatic relations coincide with ramped up military deployments which can cause any sovereign state to respond befittingly. Such understanding of deterrence paradigms and mulling de-escalation strategies in the South China Sea were missing in the discussions between the Defense Secretary and the Defense Minister. 

Beyond misperceptions of military build ups, the meetings also centered on securing the Indo-Pacific as a free passage way for navigation and trade. The explicit reference to economic ties cannot detract from references made to the "2+2" joint session talks expected to address issues such as maritime security, cybercrime and economic freedom which hinges heavily on the "China threat" perception. Such talk belittles efforts undertaken by Beijing which benefits ASEAN states, such as Malaysia and Singapore, towards promoting regional connectivity in the pandemic era, where regional partnerships and free trade agreements are secured.

Furthermore, an understanding exists among Indo-Pacific states that economic cooperation can reap significant benefits for populations reeling from unemployment, lower productivity and declining growth rates of which China is a stakeholder. The deliberations did not factor in these variables while discussing subjects such as freedom of trade and navigation. If trade and freedom of navigation is a continued priority for Washington, then an exclusionary agenda is an antithesis towards achieving an inclusive economic framework.

Domestically, the leader of the AFL-CIO has been pressurizing the Biden administration and the Congress to block imports of solar products from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which allegedly contains polysilicon from forced labor. Given that previous cases on Xinjiang have been challenged and discredited in the absence of dialogue, it is evident from the timing of these domestic pushes that alliance building is being complimented with policies aimed at curbing China's economic influence.

Lessons can be learnt from follies committed by the previous Trump administration in its relationship with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which drew from narratives from far right, hyper-nationalist forces domestically in both countries that banked upon treating China as a "rogue" state.

Conversely, the Biden administration seeking to reverse the draconian, unilateral policies of its predecessors must adopt a more constructive approach in bilateral and multilateral dealings which are devoid of zero-sum paradigms or alliance building aimed at coercion.

The meeting in Alaska between Chinese diplomats and U.S. officials impends, and augmenting the "China threat" as a prelude to the scheduled talks only threatens the optimism attached over a possible breakthrough. Meetings in South Korea and India are also to follow, with both Seoul and New Delhi understanding the importance of not jeopardizing trading ties, strategic and cooperative partnerships with China. 

It is worthwhile for Biden's diplomats to downplay the alleged China threat.

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