China should expect extreme competition from US, says Joe Biden

The US President said the new relationship he wants to forge with Xi Jinping need not be one of conflict.

President Joe Biden says China is in for “extreme competition” from the US under his administration, but that the new relationship he wants to forge need not be one of conflict. In an interview broadcast Sunday, Biden acknowledged that he has yet to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping since his inauguration January 20, but noted that the two leaders had met many times when both men served their countries as vice president.

“I know him pretty well,” Biden said in an excerpt of the interview aired on Sunday by CBS.  When they do speak, they will have “a whole lot to talk about,” Biden said. Biden appears to be concentrating his initial telephone diplomacy on US allies. He so far has spoken with the leaders of Canada, Mexico, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the NATO secretary-general.

China chose to ignore US Biden's comment that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping lacked a democratic bone in his body but said the two countries should focus on cooperation and manage their differences.