Biden inherits a raft of global crises (including some unknowns)

London CNN — US President Joe Biden’s foreign policy to-do list is long, complicated, and may soon hit speed bumps left by his predecessor. Blinken told his Senate confirmation hearing, “we have to look carefully at what has actually been negotiated … to understand fully what commitments were made, or not made by the Taliban.” Several Afghan officials, speaking in the past year on the basis of anonymity to protect their government’s relationship with the previous administration, said they were opposed to the US-Taliban deal because it endangered Afghans, and want Biden to end it. Biden will keep the US embassy in Jerusalem, but according to Blinken will reset to the traditional US policy of pushing for a “two-state solution” saying, “the challenge of course is how to move forward.” But it is America’s enemies, according to Blinken, that will take priority, with Russia being “very high on the agenda.” In a break with many in the last administration, Blinken openly criticized Russia’s President over the arrest of opposition leader Alexey Navalny. “It is extraordinary how frightened Vladimir Putin seems to be of one man,” he said, adding that the challenge posed by Russia “is urgent.” It is China, however, that poses the biggest test to US power, according to Blinken, who said “there is no doubt that it poses the most significant challenge of any nation state to the United States.” Biden’s pick for Secretary of Defense, retired General Lloyd Austin, said the same during his hearing: “Asia must be the focus of our efforts and I see China in particular as a pacing challenge for the department.” Evidence of that came shortly after Biden was sworn in, with Beijing imposing sanctions on 28 former members of the previous US administration, accusing them of “a series of crazy moves which have gravely interfered in China’s internal affairs.” The move followed a series of final moves by the outgoing White House targeting China, including sanctions aimed at officials and a declaration on its final day that the Chinese government had committed genocide against Uyghur Muslims and ethnic and religious minority groups in its western region of Xinjiang. When Blinken was asked by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham if he agreed with his predecessor that the Chinese Communist Party had “engaged in genocide regarding the Uyghur Muslim population,” Blinken said “yes.” However, Beijing has also appeared to indicate it is willing to cooperate with Biden’s new administration.