To do this, the Biden administration must follow the Hippocratic Oath: “First, do no harm.” The U.S. finds itself in a singular situation: It has been aiding the rise of its peer competitor. No one would mistake the U.S.’s China policy over the past 30 years as the equal of Klemens von Metternich, Otto von Bismarck, or Deng Xiaoping in strategic genius. If the U.S. continues to aid the rise of its opponent, then its ability to sustain its global interests and the international order it created and sustained is subject to doubt.
The China threat is the dispositive issue of U.S. foreign policy and will remain so for the rest of the century. It demands a bipartisan approach and consensus. This requires the Biden administration to compel the acknowledgement by all echelons of the American elite that China is a threat to our global interests, allies, U.S. economy, liberal political principles, social values, and human rights. To this end, it can build upon the efforts of the Trump administration, which labored to produce a whole-of-government response.