Biden asks China to follow norms on Taiwan.
President Joe Biden held his first press conference since taking office Thursday, pledging to spend more money than China on innovation and infrastructure to avoid China replacing the United States as the world’s most powerful nation. Highlights are compiled below.
● On China
He vowed to invest more to ensure the United States wins the race between the world’s two largest economies. “China has an overarching goal…to become the world’s leading country, the richest country in the world, the most powerful country in the world. That won’t happen during my tenure because the United States will continue to grow.”
Biden said he spent “a lot of Time” with Xi Jinping when he was vice president in former President Barack Obama’s administration, and that the Communist Party leader believes there is no future for democracy. He said, “He [Xi] doesn’t have a sense of democracy in his bones, but he’s a very, very smart man.”
He said he has made clear to Communist Party President Xi Jinping that the United States does not seek confrontation, but will insist that China abide by international rules of fair play and fair trade.
● On Taiwan
“We will hold China accountable for compliance with the rules, whether it’s about the South China Sea or the East China Sea, or the agreements they’ve made on Taiwan, or the whole other aspect.”
Biden said the United States values human rights and that he will continue to work with allies to condemn the Chinese Communist Party‘s treatment of Uighurs and human rights violations in Hong Kong.
“The moment a president turns his back on this – as the previous one did – is the moment we begin to lose legitimacy globally.”
● On re-election
Many political analysts believe that Biden, who is 78 years old, may decide to serve only one term. But asked if he plans to run for re-election, he said yes, and continued to have Hejinli as a running mate.
“My answer is yes, I plan to run for re-election. That’s my expectation,” said Biden, who was sworn in Jan. 20 as the oldest president in U.S. history.
He stressed that no final decision has been made. He said there was no way to “finalize a plan for three and a half years from now.
North Korea’s missiles
In response to a question about North Korea’s missile launches, Biden said, “If they choose to escalate the confrontation, we will respond accordingly.
Biden said he intends to engage in “some form of diplomacy” with North Korea, “but only if there is eventual denuclearization.”
● Talking about economy and infrastructure
Biden said the economic outlook is bright thanks to the recently passed $1.9 trillion Epidemic bailout plan, and most analysts now expect the economy to grow by more than 6 percent this year.
“Since the passage of the U.S. bailout plan, we’re starting to see hope for our economy, and since the plan was passed, the vast majority of… Economic forecasters have sharply raised
have raised their forecasts for economic growth this year. They are now forecasting GDP (gross domestic product) growth to exceed 6 percent.”
He also said his goal is to get U.S. investment in research and development back from its current equivalent of about 0.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to a level closer to 2 percent in the 1960s.
“The fact is that the future depends on who can hold the future, because the future is about technology, quantum computing, and a whole range of areas, including the medical field”
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