Over several decades, the U.S. has emphasized crisis management with China, mostly for tactical reasons. Now, the Biden administration’s emphasis is clearly strategic. The U.S. wants to be in a position to constrain China’s policy options, while tilting the playing field toward its own interests.

Speeches by Xi Jinping and Joe Biden laid out their understanding of the international political order from the perspective of their own national history. Developed nations in the West may identify with the U.S. vision, while developing nations may find the Chinese vision more attractive.

As the United States redistributes resources in response to complex dynamics with regard to China, its approach is likely to be an evolutionary, full-spectrum endeavor that goes beyond the military alone. It’s a posture that will be difficult to maintain and one that could even create chaos.

Trade between China and the United States is growing, defying a disabling global pandemic and the Trump tariffs. The continuation of the Trump trade policy will only lead to a dead end.

The U.S. president’s hands are tied by Democrats’ slim majority in Congress, and Republican are piling on the pressure ahead of elections. So it will be tough for the U.S. to change its policy course anytime soon, so long as those in policymaking circles stick to their views.

The Group of Seven (G7) Leadership Summit held last June was stated to be an occasion for the Western leaders to “reestablish” the international order after the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also for the U.S. to demonstrate its return “back at the table”.

While the U.S. pays lip service to the notion that ASEAN is at the core of the Indo-Pacific region, U.S. actions show it is side-stepping to another direction. By contrast, China’s attitude toward Southeast Asia looks much more sincere.

Biden has yielded to pressure in a domestic political struggle and has refused to give up the tradition of flaunting U.S. superiority by subduing any power that may grow to challenge America’s hegemonic position in the world.

The new U.S. president’s opening moves were generally steady and smooth, and some were successful. But America’s deep-rooted political and social contradictions will act as a constraint during Biden’s presidency.

The U.S. and others should help developing countries solve their problems, rather than using them as a playing field in a geopolitical competition with China. Excessive competition will not lead to the better world that the American president says he seeks.