Lounge chairs sit stacked on a beach while temporarily closed in Nassau, Bahamas in April 2020 because of the sudden stop in global tourism as the coronavirus pandemic raged. GETTY IMAGES
Patrick Griffin,William Danvers
The Miami Herald
The competition between the United States and China will be one of the most important national security issues confronting the Biden administration.. In an article in Foreign Affairs, President-elect Biden wrote about the special challenge China presents. In an article for the same magazine, Jake Sullivan, the president-elect’s national security advisor, along with Asia-expert Kurt Campbell wrote, “China today is a peer competitor that is more formidable economically, more sophisticated diplomatically and more flexible ideologically than the Soviet Union ever was.”
Competition is one approach, but confrontation is also part of the discussion. There must be a comprehensive and sophisticated approach toward China.
It should include engaging with nations close to home where the United States should have an historic, competitive advantage. Specifically, there needs to be a focused and sustained effort for the United States to strengthen its relationship with the Bahamas, where China, for a number of years, has invested. The problems with the dynamic in U.S.-Bahamian relations represent a microcosm of the issues the United States must address if it is to push back against China’s global engagement efforts. Read more >>