The Biden administration wants to be "in lockstep" with allies and partners and then will engage with China, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday. Price said it was "no coincidence" that President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken'sinitial interactions were with partners in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, noting that "we see our alliances, our partnerships globally as again this force multiplier across a wide range of challenges, and that includes in our relationship with Beijing."
Relations between Washington and Beijing during the previous Trump administration were oftentimes fractious, with clashes on issues relating to trade, technology, regional security and human rights. Price described the US' current relationship with Beijing as one viewed "through the lens of competition and positioning ourselves to compete and ultimately to out-compete with the Chinese."
