Two of the top national security officials US President-elect Joe Biden named on Monday , Antony Blinken as secretary of state and Jake Sullivan as national security adviser, are known for collegiality, support for US alliances and a reflex for using diplomacy as the tool of first resort.
The following are some of the policy issues that Blinken and Sullivan, who served at the State Department and then as Biden's chief foreign policy adviser in the Obama administration, will face as they seek to turn the page on President Donald Trump's sometimes chaotic foreign policy:China is expected to be the main challenge for Biden's foreign policy team at a time when relations between Washington and Beijing have sunk to the lowest point in decades.
They are also expected to galvanise support from allies to pressure Beijing to respect international norms on issues such as trade, Hong Kong, the South China Sea, coronavirus and human rights. Blinken, who served under Obama when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, said in September that Biden believed in countering aggression by Moscow, including through sanctions. He also accused Russia, in a CBS interview, of"trying to exploit our difficulties."
In withdrawing from the deal, Trump restored US sanctions and has imposed many more in a failed effort so far to force Iran into negotiations. "What do we get in return? Worse than nothing," Blinken told CBS News in September, referring to the Trump-Kim meetings.Blinken has promised to work more closely with allies and to press China for"genuine economic pressure" to get Pyongyang to the negotiating table.
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