Joe Biden’s outgoing national security advisor Jake Sullivan and Donald Trump’s incoming NSA Michael Waltz have both said that China poses the single most important long-term strategic challenge to the United States, and India was a key partner for the US in this competition.
Asked about the elements of bipartisan policy on China, among other measures, Waltz referred to his position as the co-chair of the India caucus and identified India as the critical partner for the future. Sullivan told Waltz about his recent visit to India, and how India loved Waltz and was excited to have him taking over. With his wife now elected to the US Congress, Sullivan said, “I told them I can be the chair of the House India spouses caucus,” with the audience erupting in laughter.
Sullivan and Waltz were in conversation with another former NSA, Stephen Hadley, at an event titled “Passing the Baton 2025: Securing America’s Future in the an Era of Strategic Competition” at the US Institute of Peace in Washington DC on Tuesday.
In a sign of deep cooperation between the outgoing and incoming teams, Sullivan and Waltz said that they had spent considerable time together to make sure that America’s adversaries did not think they can take advantage of this moment of transition. Waltz mentioned that both Biden and Trump had their own envoys in West Asia reporting back to their principals on the progress in Gaza ceasefire talks; Sullivan and he had been discussing cyber; and that Sullivan had candidly shared with him their approach, what worked, and what didn’t.
Sullivan said that while they were focused on immediate developments, the single most important thing to be focused on strategically was the long-term challenge from China. “For me, we can’t take our eyes off the ball from the long-term strategic competition with China. We have not faced a challenge like that in a very long time, perhaps ever. We have to stay focused on investing at home, rallying our allies and pushing back against China’s unfair economic tactics and aggressive measures in places like South China Sea and Taiwan straits.”
On the principal challenges, Waltz said that the most immediate threat was the “southern border” and its “open nature” was unacceptable. He added that Trump was also focused on western hemisphere, especially given China’s influence in Latin America. “We are wringing our hands in Congress about supply chains and the fact that we have such critical dependencies not just one a single country but on our greatest adversary,” Waltz said, offering examples of pharma ingredients and minerals and how western hemisphere can be a source. “The President-elect firmly believes we can avoid conflict with the Chinese Communist Party because they need our markets. We are going to use the leverage in a way that’s aligned with our national security while we still can.”
On the elements of a bipartisan policy on China, Waltz identified supply chains and then referred to his position as co-chair of the India caucus. “One is getting it back here to the US. If it doesn’t make sense here, then to the Western hemisphere where we are concerned with the core causes of migration. So let’s get foreign direct investment there and jobs there. If not there, then to our allies with AUKUS and Quad, areas that have continued from one administration to another and we will continue.” Waltz then mentioned bolstering Taiwan’s defences and giving them what they needed as the second element of the bipartisan approach to China. And third, he mentioned strengthening alliances and partnerships, giving credit to the Biden team for the US-Japan-South Korea and US-Japan-Philippines trilateral. “All of those things will continue. And if I didn’t mention India, I will again mention India as a critical partner for the future.”
Sullivan then said he was in India just last week. “They love you there as a co-chair of the Indian caucus. They are excited to have you come over more. I told them I could be the chair of the India spouses caucus in Congress and they were a little less excited. But we will do our best.”
He said that a good China strategy was a good Asia strategy, including the work they had done with allies and partners. He then said that a good China strategy was also a good allies strategy, and this is where Europe was important. And then he mentioned technology as a key element of the China strategy where the US had to both promote and protect technology. Sullivan also added that China was facing economic headwinds, and it was attempting to overcome that through overproduction in key sectors, which in turn would flood the markets and undercut US workers and supply chain resilience.
