President Biden has announced his withdrawal from the 2024 election, signaling his decision to gradually step away from his illustrious 50-year career. As a professional politician for the past half-century, Biden has always been at the core of Washington’s power circles and has played significant roles on the international stage. His team stated that withdrawing from the election will allow him to focus more on foreign policy, as the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have yet to be resolved, and Biden’s work in diplomacy is far from complete.
Bloomberg reported that with Biden passing the presidential torch to Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump, untested in essence, America’s adversaries may perceive Biden as weakened on the world stage, creating an opportune moment to challenge the United States.
Russian President Putin and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping may view Biden as a lame-duck president, potentially attempting direct confrontation or disregarding Biden’s authority to act as they please.
However, foreign policy has long been seen as one of Biden’s strengths, and a topic he is most confident in. After ceasing his participation in the 2024 election, Biden is expected to focus on his political legacy, possibly emulating Bill Clinton’s pre-election summit at Camp David in 2000 as a final effort for Middle East peace.
Princeton University historian Julian Zelizer remarks, “Lack of election pressure can lead to bolder actions. While being a lame-duck in usual circumstances may be a disadvantage, I actually think that in this situation, he (Biden) may have some maneuvering room in the coming months on critical issues.”
In the last half-year of his presidency, Biden may seek significant diplomatic victories, including new efforts to counter China’s support for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Following the conclusion of the NATO summit on July 11 in Washington, Biden expressed that his work on ending the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East has not been completed, stating, “I must finish this job.”
Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced on July 19 that the United States is preparing for new actions against China’s support for Russia, indicating that the world should “expect to see more sanctions.” The new sanctions are reportedly targeting China’s banking industry, marking a significant escalation in U.S. measures against Beijing.
Just hours after Biden announced his decision to not seek reelection on July 21, his Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised him on social media for restoring America’s global leadership and expressed anticipation for the upcoming months of collaboration.
Bloomberg’s report suggests that Blinken’s post conveys a clear message to allies and adversaries: Biden has no intention of abandoning efforts to mediate peace agreements between Israel and Hamas, will advocate for providing more weapons and funding to Ukraine, and will resist China’s support for Russia on the Ukrainian battlefield.
At 81 years old, Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history. Fifty-two years ago, when he won his first Senate election at the age of 29, he was one of the youngest federal senators in American history.
From 1973 to 2009, Biden served six terms as a U.S. Senator representing Delaware. During his eight-year tenure as Vice President from 2009 to 2017, he was instrumental in the Obama administration.
Throughout his political career, Biden ran unsuccessfully for president in 1988 and 2008. In 2020, at the age of 77, he finally secured the presidency on his third attempt.
If Biden had chosen to seek reelection and win, by the time he took office again in 2025, he would have been 82 years old, continuing to break records as the oldest U.S. president.
Faced with pressures within the Democratic Party and concerns about his age, Biden ultimately decided to forgo reelection efforts. The Democratic Party believes that Biden’s choice to relinquish power may actually enhance his role and stature in American presidential history, despite the common belief that winning reelection is essential to being considered a great president.
Vice President Harris praised Biden on July 22 at the White House, stating, “In one term, he has achieved more than most presidents serving two terms.”
Biden has often stated that many significant decisions in his life have been guided by destiny.
Historian Jon Meacham, who is a personal friend and external advisor to Biden, told the Associated Press, “President Biden has done something that is reviled by any politician – he has foregone the possibility of continuing in power, making his presidency even more poignant.”
Meacham added, “One phrase he (Biden) often uses is, ‘I am a respecter of fate.’ I believe that.”
Whether as a senator, vice president, or president, foreign policy has always been a top priority for Biden, with his extensive diplomatic experience standing out as one of his political highlights.
During his time as a senator, Biden served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and chaired the committee twice, totaling four years (2001-2003; 2007-2009).
During the 2008 presidential election, after Obama secured the Democratic nomination for president, he chose Biden as his running mate, significantly influenced by Biden’s foreign policy experience.
As vice president, Biden had a significant impact on Obama’s foreign policy, particularly in shaping U.S. policy towards Iraq.
Upon assuming the presidency, Biden’s foreign policy objectives included restoring America’s “trusted leadership role among democratic nations globally” to address challenges posed by communist China and Russia. He shifted U.S. foreign policy towards strategic competition with China.
Following the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden imposed sanctions on Russia and provided over $100 billion in military, economic, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
After Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel, Biden condemned Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups as terrorists, declaring U.S. military support for Israel. Simultaneously, Biden expressed support and sympathy for Palestinians in Gaza affected by the conflict, providing humanitarian assistance.
Upon becoming president in January 2021, Biden wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine that the U.S. needs to take a “tough stance” against communist China and establish a “united front of American allies and partners” to counter China’s abuses and human rights violations. He described communist China as America’s “most serious competitor” and a challenge to U.S. “prosperity, security, and democratic values.”
In June 2021, Biden announced an executive order, effective August, prohibiting Americans from investing in 59 Chinese companies, including tech giant Huawei.
In September 2022, Reuters reported that “Joe Biden stated that if China invaded Taiwan, the U.S. military would defend Taiwan, marking his clearest statement on the issue and provoking a furious response from China, who deemed it a wrong signal to Taiwan.” The report noted that Biden’s Taiwan policy statement contrasted sharply with his earlier support for Ukraine against Russia while ruling out sending U.S. troops and fighter jets to Ukraine.
During Biden’s presidency, he has had two face-to-face meetings with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, first during the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022 and then at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, California, in November 2023.
In June 2023, while speaking at a fundraising event in California, Biden referred to Xi Jinping as a “dictator” for the first time when discussing a Chinese high-altitude spy balloon incident over American airspace earlier that year.
In August 2023, at a fundraising event in Utah, Biden warned about the Chinese economy “getting into trouble,” labeling the CCP as a “time bomb” in many aspects, cautioning that “when bad guys get into trouble, they will do bad things.”
In October 2023, Biden requested nearly $106 billion in funding from Congress to support Israel and Ukraine, counter China in the Indo-Pacific region, and take action at the U.S. southern border. Two months later, he signed an $886 billion defense spending bill incorporating this provision, into law.
In January 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the successful dismantling of the “Volt Typhoon” network, supported by communist China but hiding its origins, that launched cyber-attacks on critical U.S. infrastructure.
In March 2024, Bloomberg reported that the Biden administration was urging the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea, and Japan to further tighten restrictions on China’s access to high-end semiconductors.
In a speech on March 7th this year, Biden stated, “Our GDP is up; our trade deficit with China is at its lowest point in a decade; we stand up against China’s unfair economic practices; we support peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. I have revitalized our partnerships and alliances in the Pacific region: India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Pacific island nations. I have ensured that the most advanced American technology cannot be used in China, and such technologies cannot be traded with China.”
“We are more capable than any other country to win the conflict of the 21st century against China, and we are more powerful than ever before.”
In May 2024, building upon the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on China, Biden further escalated tariffs against China in strategic areas, including imposing 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, 50% tariffs on solar panels produced in China, 50% on semiconductors, 50% on medical injection equipment, 25% on lithium batteries, and others.
It is believed that Vice President Harris is expected to inherit Biden’s tough stance on China.