Biden adviser says unrealistic to “fully decouple” from China

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrat Joe Biden would seek to reset the terms of economic and technology ties with China while combating unfair practices and aggressively enforcing U.S. trade laws, a senior foreign policy adviser to the former U.S. vice president said on Tuesday.

Tony Blinken told an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that it was unrealistic to “fully decouple” from China, but Biden would focus on expanding U.S. strategic influence by rebuilding ties with allies to set technology standards.

He said the Phase 1 trade deal signed by the United States and China in January had been “a debacle” since it did not address the systemic issues between the world’s two largest economies.