How to understand the first 100 days of President Biden’s China policies – an insider’s guide
The Chinese government seems unsure whether to welcome or deplore the election of President Biden. China sent its chief diplomats, Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi, to Anchorage to berate Mr Biden’s top envoys in front of the cameras, for presuming to speak to China from a position of strength. Chinese state media has scolded the Biden administration for continuing some Trump-era policies that are called efforts to contain a rising China. Mr Biden himself has talked of China as the most serious competitor that America faces. Yet China is also signalling a willingness to cooperate with America on issues that were points of contention under Donald Trump, such as climate change.
Daniel Russel, a former career foreign service officer in the State Department, worked in the Obama White House as National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs, before serving from 2013-2016 as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. His long diplomatic career included several postings in Japan and South Korea. He is now Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York.