Biden’s Record on China Leaves Big Problems for His Successor
The president’s great success was building alliances; his major failures were on trade and military readiness.
A 2012 photo. Things have gone downhill since.
Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan traveled to Beijing last week for what the White House called “candid, substantive, and constructive” — in other words, contentious — talks with Chinese officials. Sullivan’s visit is his first to China in his current role. But it probably marks one of the last major attempts at diplomatic engagement between President Joe Biden’s administration and the government of Xi Jinping.
It also offers a chance to take the measure of Biden’s record on China, one that features historic achievements, glaring weaknesses and unanswered questions.