Each Friday, I look at what is happening in President-Elect Joe Biden’s transition to the White House. This week: Biden faces substantial obstacles in his bid to remake U.S. foreign policy after four years of America First.
Architect of Obama pivot to steer Asia policy for Biden
AFP
14th January, 2021 09:20:48
Kurt Campbell, a key architect of Barack Obama s US pivot to Asia, will take a top job for President-elect Joe Biden, signaling renewed efforts to rally with allies in the face of a rising China.
Campbell will serve as coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the National Security Council and deputy to Jake Sullivan, the incoming national security advisor, said The Asia Group, a consultancy Campbell founded in 2013 after leaving government.
Allies such as Japan and South Korea are likely to be relieved by the appointment of Campbell, who has criticized President Donald Trump s heavy pressure on them to pay more for US bases.
Thursday, 14 Jan 2021 08:19 AM MYT
The Asia Group chairman and CEO Kurt M. Campbell attends the China Development Forum in Beijing March 23, 2019. Reuters pic
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WASHINGTON, Jan 14 Kurt Campbell, a key architect of Barack Obama’s US “pivot” to Asia, will take a top job for President-elect Joe Biden, signaling renewed efforts to rally with allies in the face of a rising China.
Campbell will serve as coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the National Security Council and deputy to Jake Sullivan, the incoming national security advisor, said The Asia Group, a consultancy Campbell founded in 2013 after leaving government.
Jan 14, 2021
In a move likely to reassure Tokyo and other allies, Kurt Campbell a key architect of the U.S. pivot to Asia will take a top job under President-elect Joe Biden as a senior policy official for the region.
Campbell will take the post of coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs on the National Security Council (NSC) as deputy to Jake Sullivan, who Biden has tapped to be his national security adviser.
His consultancy, The Asia Group, revealed the news in a statement published Wednesday. Campbell founded the group after leaving the administration of President Barack Obama.
A spokesman for the Biden transition team later confirmed the pick, Reuters reported. The position, which some observers have equated to an “Asia czar,” will not need Senate confirmation.
The post-Trump era in U.S.-China relations has begun
01/14/2021 08:31 AM EST
The United States is as vulnerable as your host can remember it, with a populace riven by partisan anger and often, drunk on disinformation. The president is distracted and the heads of the Defense Department and Homeland Security are manned by stand-ins. While Chinese propagandists are making hay at American division, it seems China won’t exploit this moment to make a military move on the self-governing island of Taiwan, an action some analysts have openly feared this juncture might bring. China, after all, has its own distractions; despite a growing economy, it s undergoing another massive Covid-19 lockdown in two major cities near Beijing.