US President-elect Joe Biden earlier said that he would not immediately endthe trade war with China and remove trade duties imposed by US PresidentDonald Trump. During a press briefing on Monday, Biden addressed US-Chinarelations, a COVID-19 relief package and transition problems with the Trumpadministration.
On Monday, Joe Biden, while giving a speech following a briefing by membersof his national security and foreign policy agency review teams regardingpotential key challenges that the incoming administration is expected toface, suggested that Washington needs to build a coalition of like-mindednations to confront Beijing.
“As we compete with China to hold China’s government accountable for itstrade abuses, technology, human rights and other fronts, our position wouldbe much stronger when we build coalitions of like-minded partners andallies that make common cause with us in defense of our shared interestsand our shared values,” he said.
Biden said partnering with other democracies on China would “more thandouble” the US economic leverage over the country. He added that no globalproblem could be solved by the US acting alone, including climate changeand the coronavirus pandemic.
As Biden will occupy the White House for at least four years, many expertsand officials around the globe have speculated that his presidency willrepresent a sharp break with Trump’s foreign policy.
This is especially important for Beijing, since under the Trumpadministration US-China relations significantly deteriorated, withWashington accusing Beijing of unfair economic practices, human rightsviolations in some of its regions, encroachment on the special status ofHong Kong, and a lack of transparency regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
*Trump administration ‘obstruction’ of transition*
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Biden accused the incumbent administration of withholding national securityinformation and said his team had faced most of its obstruction of thetransition process from the political branch of the Pentagon.
“From some agencies our team received exemplary cooperation, from thecareer staff of those agencies, from others – most notably the Departmentof Defense – we countered obstruction from the political leadership of thatdepartment,” he said.
According to the president-elect, his team is not getting “all theinformation that we need from the outgoing administration in key nationalsecurity areas.” He added, that “it’s nothing short of irresponsibility.”
Biden specifically mentioned the Office of Management and Budget as anotherexample of a government department where his team was facing “roadblocks.
