The Australian government has welcomed the Biden administration’s initial stance on China, with US Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos saying it was on track to be “consistent with where we’ve been”.
Mr Sinodinos, who was one of a select crowd of dignitaries invited to Joe Biden’s scaled-back inauguration ceremony at the Capitol, also praised the “pitch perfect” swearing-in.
Mr Biden has pledged to spend his first days unwinding some of Donald Trump’s key policies.
Concerns this may have included the US stepping back its pressure on China were allayed when Mr Biden’s nominee for Secretary of State, Tony Blinken, said on Tuesday he supported Mr Trump’s muscular posture.
“As we look at China, there is no doubt that it poses the most significant challenge of any nation state to the United States,” Mr Blinken said in his Senate confirmation hearing.
“We have to start by approaching China from a position of strength, not weakness.”
Mr Sinodinos welcomed this statement and said it accorded with Australia’s leading role in taking on China over the past year.
Mr Sinodinos said he expected the Biden administration to be “quite strategic” and to continue to support Australia.
*Sourced by The Daily Telegraph, Photos: Twitter/Arthur Synodinos AO
