If he is elected as U.S. president in November, Joe Biden will come under intense pressure to seek a reset in relations with China, of the kind that President Barack Obama once sought to extend to Russia. Yielding to this pressure would be a serious mistake. Despite its excesses and omissions, the Trump administration has done the right thing by beginning to push back against Beijing. Biden should build on what he inherits, keeping the good policies, discarding the bad, and eliminating the ugliness that has marred Donald Trump’s presidency and damaged the nation’s ability to meet its greatest strategic challenge.
The list of those lobbying for an easing of tensions will be long. In the business world it will likely include U.S. semiconductor manufacturers anxious about the impact of new export controls, financial firms hoping to manage the money of millions of new Chinese investors if Beijing continues to open its market, farmers looking to resume sales of soybeans, and manufacturers whose costs have risen due to Trump’s tariffs on imported materials and components. Professional China watchers, largely ignored by the Trump administration, will be eager to make their voices heard again, especially those who already blame the White House for causing the sharp downturn in relations by “treat[ing] China as an enemy.”
