Biden, the United States and China.
A new administration is often the chance for a reset in foreign policy. The inauguration of Jo Biden on January 20th as the 46th President of the United States is no exception. The contrast with the Trump administration is already evident with the return to prior norms of conduct. Already gone are the endless self-promoting tweets that frequently made policy on the fly. So what can we expect from a Biden administration when it comes to US-China relations? In many ways, we can expect a return to the priorities and character of the Obama administration. While it is overly simplistic to consider that Biden will effectively represent a proverbial third term of the Obama years, he has staffed many of his key Cabinet posts with colleagues who served under Obama. Most notable is the appointment of Anthony Blinken to Secretary of State and the nomination of Samantha Power to direct the U.S. Agency for International Development. Blinken served as Biden’s National Security Advisor during the Oba