The Biden administration seems determined to pursue highly confrontational policies toward both Moscow and Beijing. The United States, through its leadership of NATO, is pursuing a full-blown proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Indeed, that initiative appears to be only part of a larger plan to fatally weaken Russia as a major power.
Washington’s confrontation with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is not yet as intense, but a pronounced chill in bilateral relations has become apparent. Biden has escalated America’s support for Taiwan’s de facto independence, and Washington has taken multiple steps to contain the PRC’s economic and military power in East Asia and globally. The United States has forged closer security ties with Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines with a clear motive to contain China and to secure explicit or implicit commitments from those countries to help the United States defend Taiwan.