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Home / China / Joe Biden can’t embrace containment or appeasement on China
China, Asia, Deterrence

November 13, 2023

Joe Biden can’t embrace containment or appeasement on China

By Andrew Latham

Photo of President Joe Biden Speaking

The upcoming U.S.-China summit is a high-stakes event with the potential to shape the global order for decades to come. President Biden must approach the summit with a clear strategy and a commitment to prudent balancing.

Not containment, which is a policy of trying to prevent a rising power from expanding its influence. Not detente, which is a policy of reducing tensions between two hostile powers. And certainly not appeasement, which is a policy of giving in to the demands of a rising power in order to avoid conflict.

Instead, President Biden should approach his Chinese counterpart in the spirit of prudent balancing, a strategy that involves using a combination of deterrence, engagement, and cooperation to manage the relationship with a rising power.

Read at The National Interest

Author

Photo of Andrew Latham

Andrew
Latham

Non-Resident Fellow

Defense Priorities

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