The U.S. and China Are Running Out of Time
To prevent relations from hardening beyond repair, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping need to act fast.
Better start talking.
Photographer: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping know their nations need to find a way to manage their rivalry over the long-term. If the two leaders are to put the relationship on a more even keel, though, they don’t have much time.
For different reasons, each of them would surely welcome a pause in the steady escalation of tensions that has marked the past few months. Biden faces a daunting list of domestic priorities — containing a rampaging pandemic, healing a polarized nation and reviving the economy. He also believes that to prevail in any strategic contest with China, the U.S. must first rebuild its strength at home and forge a strong coalition of like-minded allies abroad, which will take time.