US to defend its interests against China, warns Biden

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden vowed late on Tuesday he would not hesitate to defend US interests against China after he ordered the downing of a suspected surveillance balloon but, delivering his State of the Union address, kept the door open to cooperation.

In the annual speech to assembled lawmakers, many of whom have pressed for a hard line on China, Biden called for US investment in the military, technology and alliances to take on the country widely viewed as the chief US competitor.

“I´m committed to work with China where it can advance American interests and benefit the world,” Biden said. “But make no mistake about it -- as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did,” he said to applause.

Biden said that “winning the competition” with China should unite Americans. “I will make no apologies that we are investing to make America stronger -- investing in American innovation, in industries that will define the future that China intends to be dominating.”

But Biden steered clear of hawkish language as he mentioned by name his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, whom he met at length in November in Indonesia. Biden said he told Xi that “we seek competition, not conflict.”

In a foreign ministry statement issued after Biden´s address, China vowed to “firmly defend” its interests, but also said it was “opposed to using competition to define the entire Sino-US relationship.” It went on to urge the United States to “pursue a positive and pragmatic China policy, and work with China to push Sino-US relations back to the track of healthy and stable development.”

China was one of the few foreign policy issues mentioned by Biden in a more than one-hour speech that comes as he prepares for a likely run for a second term. President Joe Biden called on the US Congress to hold police accountable for abusive behaviour, citing the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis, Tennessee law enforcement.

“We can´t turn away,” Biden said as Nichols´ parents sat in the audience as guests of honor at his State of the Union address in the US Capitol. “Let´s come together and finish the job on police reform,” Biden said.

Amid anger over police abuse, especially of African Americans, Biden called equal protection for all people an American “covenant.” “When police officers or police departments violate the public trust, they must be held accountable,” he said.

“Just as every cop, when they pin on that badge in the morning, has a right to be able to go home at night, so does everybody else out there,” he said. “Our children have a right to come home safely,” he added. Biden called on US lawmakers to restrict how social media companies lure children and collect their data, as he accused Big Tech of conducting a “for profit” experiment on the nation´s youth.