Biden confronts China’s Xi in first call

During the call, Biden confronted Xi about China’s “coercive and unfair economic practices, crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan,” according to a readout of the call. They also discussed the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, among other issues.

The call, which came three weeks after Biden’s inauguration, was the product of extensive consultations with U.S. allies in Europe and Asia about constructing a new China strategy, two senior administration officials said on Wednesday…

“This is a sustainable strategy that will play out over the course of years,” one of the officials said. “We need to stick with this, play the long game, and make investments in these foundational components.” The official argued that while there was “merit in the basic proposition” of a strategic competition with China, there were “deep problems”’ with how the Trump administration had gone about it—specifically, Trump’s reluctance to engage with key allies on the issue and bungling of the pandemic response.