For years, observers and policymakers in Washington assumed US-China tensions will be the defining factor in global affairs, as American power declines and is replaced by Chinese influence worldwide. In 2024, they were proved wrong.
When US President Joe Biden took office in 2021, his administration presented China as a critical strategic and economic competitor. Much of Biden’s foreign policy, especially on Asia, was based on a strategy of isolating Beijing and counterbalancing its influence through a network of alliances.
Biden continued the trade war he inherited from his predecessor, Donald Trump, and also encouraged American businesses to transfer their operations in China to countries more closely aligned with the United States.
These policies had a marked effect on US-China economic relations in recent years. According to official US government data, bilateral trade has fallen steadily, from nearly US$700 billion in 2022 to under US$500 billion for the first 10 months of 2024.
Yet, after tensions in the first half of Biden’s term over Taiwan and a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, US-China relations have largely become a side story in international affairs. While US-China tensions loom large, they have rarely driven or defined major developments in the last couple of years.
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‘We will act’: Biden raises row over Chinese balloon during State of the Union address
‘We will act’: Biden raises row over Chinese balloon during State of the Union address
In 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Washington expected China to be a major player in shaping Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions, for better or worse.