Claiming that the US was in a better position than it had been in decades to compete with China, President Joe Biden said that the US will act if China threatened its sovereignty “as we made clear last week” — a reference to America shooting down a Chinese surveillance balloon that traversed through US territory.
In his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday in Washington DC, Biden also said that democracies were getting stronger and autocracies were weakening; the US was investing in industries of the future and in alliances; and bridges were forming between US partners in Atlantic and Pacific.
On Ukraine, the president said that the US had succeeded and would stand with Ukraine against Russian aggression “as long as it takes”.
In a speech largely devoted to domestic issues, Biden focused on foreign policy in the latter part of his speech.
On China, Biden said that before he came to office, the story was about how China was increasing its power and America was declining. “Not anymore”. Biden said that he had made it clear to China’s President Xi Jinping that the US wanted competition, not conflict.
“I will make no apologies that we are investing to make America stronger. Investing in American innovation, and in industries that will define the future that China’s government is intent on dominating. Investing in our alliances and working with our allies to protect our advanced technologies so they are not used against us. Modernising our military to safeguard stability and deter aggression. Today, we are in the strongest position in decades to compete with China or anyone else in the world.”
While saying that he was committed to working with China where it could advance American interests and for global good, Biden said, “Make no mistake: as we made clear last week, if China’s threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did.”
The disclosure about the Chinese surveillance balloon had triggered sharp Republican criticism against the administration for being weak, prompted secretary of state Antony J Blinken to postpone his visit to Beijing and led to a further dip in DC-Beijing ties.
Biden said that that winning the competition with China should unite everyone, and emphasised that democracies had got stronger and autocracies had weakened in the past two years. The US president has consistently framed the central battle of contemporary times as one between democracies and autocracies.
To substantiate his point, departing from the prepared text, Biden said, “Name me one leader who wants to change places with Xi Jinping. Name me one.”
He said that the US was rallying the world to meet global challenges, from climate to global health, from food security to terrorism to territorial aggression. “Allies are stepping up, spending more and doing more. And bridges are forming between partners in the Pacific and those in the Atlantic.”
Over the past year, even as there were apprehensions that the war in Ukraine would distract from the US from the China challenge back to Europe, the Biden administration has encouraged viewing both the European and Indo-Pacific theatres as an integrated space and there has been enhanced dialogue between NATO and American allies and partners in Asia.
On Russia, Biden said that Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine had been a test for the US and the world and given rise to a set of questions — would the US stand for sovereignty, for the right of people to “live free from tyranny”, for the “defence of democracy”?
“One year later, we know the answer. Yes, we would. And yes, we did.” The US, Biden said, had led; it had united NATO and built a global coalition; it had stood against Putin’s aggression and with the Ukrainian people. Acknowledging the presence of the Ukrainian ambassador to the US in the Congress, Biden said, “Ambassador, America is united in our support for your country. We will stand with you as long as it takes.”
