US shouldn't play with fire when it comes to China ties

In his final address to the UN General Assembly's 79th session on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden reiterated that Washington seeks to responsibly manage the competition with Beijing so that it does not veer toward conflict.

While such words sound less confrontational than his usual rhetoric targeting China, what he has been doing over the past three years and eight months has dramatically raised the possibility of conflict with China on both the economic and military fronts.

During his presidential campaign in 2020, Biden slammed his predecessor Donald Trump for imposing punitive tariffs on Chinese products, saying "Trump doesn't get the basics" and "any freshman econ student could tell you that the American people are paying his tariffs".