Biden Has the Edge on Xi. That’s Why It’s Time to Talk
The US would benefit just as much as China from a pause in hostilities, but for different reasons.
Biden’s investments in chips and infrastructure have put China on the defensive.
Photographer: Andrew Spear/Getty Images
Chinese leaders appear eager for Antony Blinken’s forthcoming visit to Beijing — the first by a US secretary of state in four-and-a-half years – to be a success. That’s largely because they face steep challenges: a massive wave of Covid deaths, a faltering economy, a shrinking and aging society, and widening suspicion and hostility abroad. They could use the breathing room that a reset in relations with the US might offer.
US President Joe Biden has just as much reason to seek a rapprochement, though — not out of weakness, as his Republican critics are sure to howl, but because his policies are working.