Biden national security strategy calls China biggest threat, sees Russia diminished by Ukraine invasion

The U.S. considers Russia an "immediate" geopolitical challenge but sees China as a much more consequential long-term threat, according to President Biden's national security strategy released Wednesday, after a delay prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February. In fact, the Ukraine war "has profoundly diminished Russia's status vis-a-vis China and other Asian powers such as India and Japan," the declassified 48-page document says.

Russia and China "pose different challenges," the national security strategy says. "Russia poses an immediate threat to the free and open international system, recklessly flouting the basic laws of the international order today," while China, "by contrast, is the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to advance that objective."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.