President Joe Biden has always considered himself an expert in foreign policy, and the relationship with China he leaves to his predecessor will be an important part of his legacy.
In the last four years under Biden's leadership, the United States and China, in a pitched battle for the status as the world's great superpower, have intersected in various ways.
Underlying much of Biden's term has been a threat China could move to invade Taiwan as it continues to flex its muscles in the South China Sea. There have also been Chinese incursions into the U.S. in the forms of spy balloons and fentanyl, and a growing closeness between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin that is giving the West cause for concern.
Last month, national security adviser Jake Sullivan visited with Chinese officials in Beijing in what he described as a "true working visit" and said he expected a call between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the "coming weeks."
"It is likely that both President Biden and President Xi will be at [the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum] and the G20 later this year. I don't have any announcements to make on either President Biden's travel or a potential meeting, but the likelihood is they'll both be there, and if they are, it would only be natural for them to have the chance to sit down with one another," Sullivan said at a press conference in Beijing in August.
"So we'll have to await any confirmation or any announcements, but I think things pointing in that direction seem logical and reasonable," he added.
A final meeting with Xi, either at one of the conferences or via telephone, would provide Biden a final chance to deliver a message to a China that has flaunted its power and toyed with frustrating his efforts at projecting strength abroad.
During Biden's tenure, the president and Xi have held two in person meetings, in November 2022 and 2023. He has also held phone calls with the Chinese leader, with the most recent one occurring in April 2024.
The most public intersection of U.S.-China relations came when China flew a spy balloon over the U.S. from Montana to South Carolina in February 2023. The balloon would be shot down by the U.S. over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina. The incident also led to frostier relations between the two countries.
Another occurrence during the Biden administration has been China's apparent closer cooperation with Russia. Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Beijing, as the Winter Olympics were happening in the city in February 2022, declaring that their partnership had "no limits." Shortly after the meeting, Putin's Russia invaded Ukraine — beginning the now two-and-a-half-year-long conflict. Xi and Putin have met multiple times during Biden's presidency, reaffirming the two countries' partnership.
While China has not invaded Taiwan, despite long-standing threats to do so, tensions around the two countries remain high. U.S. policy has typically been one of "strategic ambiguity" with regard to whether the United States would defend Taiwan against an invasion, but Biden has said multiple times in his presidency that the U.S. military would aid against an attack. The comments by Biden were typically followed up with the White House reaffirming its commitment to the One China policy, but angering the Chinese nonetheless.
During Biden's tenure, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also made a visit to Taiwan in August 2022, marking the first time since the 1990s that a U.S. government official that senior had made the trip.
In the waning months of Biden's presidency, China's moves with Taiwan and potential attempts to influence the 2024 election will be in the spotlight.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has found leading into the November election that China does not have a preference with the presidential race, but is "focused on influencing down-ballot races.
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"China is also continuing its longstanding efforts to build relationships with U.S. officials and entities at state and local levels because it perceives Washington as largely opposed to China. This view likely informs Beijing’s greater interest in some non-presidential races," an ODNI report released Friday said.
As Biden approaches his final 100 days, his lasting legacy with U.S.-China relations will begin to take shape, even as other foreign policy events will likely define his presidency in the coming years.
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