The veteran officials U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has chosen to manage the U.S.’s fractured relationship with China are familiar throughout Asia. But they’ll find the region’s landscape dramatically changed after four years of "America First” upheaval.
Ties between Washington and Beijing have sunk to their lowest point since the height of the Cold War, while the U.S.’s alliances across Asia have been strained by President Donald Trump’s combative trade policies and demands for more troop funding. Biden’s national security team, led by long-time aides such as Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan, are expected to leave much of Trump’s China policies in place for a period of time as they grapple with domestic crises and work with allies to build a more multilateral strategy to counter Beijing.
Antony Blinken, 58, secretary of state nominee