Biden Needs to Clarify China Policy

This has nothing to do with U.S. “staying power” and everything to do with the competent running of our foreign policy.

The Wall Street Journal editors are nothing if not predictable:

And now that both she and Mr. Biden have raised the prospect of a military threat, any decision to stay home would look like a retreat under Chinese pressure.

China would notice that its bullying threats succeeded, and so would U.S. allies in Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and others in the Asia-Pacific region that worry about U.S. staying power. The walk-back would be felt most acutely in Taiwan, where the issue of U.S. support in the case of invasion is existential. If China can stop a senior U.S. official from visiting Taiwan, how resolute is America going to be in a shooting war?

China hawks are constantly looking for excuses to pick fights with Beijing. It doesn’t matter to them whether any U.S. interests are actually at stake as long as there is an opportunity to score points. It doesn’t matter if it looks like a “retreat” under pressure if the underlying decision is a sound one, and the U.S. should not take unnecessary risks in its dealings with China just for the sake of appearances. Pelosi was wrong to contemplate a visit, but she is not required to follow through with one just because the news became common knowledge. There are times when backing down is the wiser course of action, and in this case the U.S. would do well to avoid pointless provocation.