Joe Biden's long history with China unlikely to mend Trump-era rift

Biden's transformation on China mirrored a broader shift in Washington, where a bipartisan consensus began to see Beijing as a threat to the US-led world order

Unlike Donald Trump, whom Chinese officials had little knowledge of before he took office, Joe Biden is well known in Beijing. But that history is unlikely to quickly repair a relationship between the global powers that has fundamentally changed over the past four years.

A supporter of engagement with Beijing since the 1970s, Biden held extensive meetings with Xi Jinping when both served as vice president back in 2011. Yet his stance toward the world’s second-largest economy hardened over the past decade: On the campaign trail, he blasted Beijing for its actions in Hong Kong, dubbed its policies toward Muslim minorities