What Joe Biden Has in Store For China
DONALD TRUMP’S RAGE OVER THE circumstances in which he now finds himself—trailing in the polls as the November election approaches; on the defensive over his handling of the pandemic—has been directed mainly at one target: the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The list of grievances seems endless. Of course, one of Trump’s greatest hits is that China is to blame for the COVID-19 virus. On July 23rd, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a remarkably hawkish speech, even for him, arguing that nearly 50 years of engagement with the PRC had been a mistake. The administration then intensified economic pressure, in ways that critics say are untethered to any recognizable long-term strategy. On August 17, the administration announced it would further tighten restrictions on the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei’s ability to buy foreign
