In his first foreign policy address, US President Joe Biden on Thursday described China as the "most serious competitor" to the United States and vowed to confront Beijing on various fronts, including human rights, intellectual property and economic policy.

Appearing at the State Department, Biden declared his administration would "take on directly the challenges posed [to] our prosperity, security and democratic values by our most serious competitor: China".

"We'll confront China's economic abuses [and] push back on China's attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance," Biden said.

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The address comes as his administration faces early diplomatic tests, including Russia's imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and a coup in Myanmar that has resulted in a return to military rule.

Relations with Beijing remain fraught, too, with Washington making critical statements about China's actions in Xinjiang and offering early signs of support to Taiwan, including an unprecedented invitation for the self-ruled island's representative to attend Biden's inauguration.

Biden has still not spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom Biden called a "thug" during his campaign, despite holding conversations with a growing list of world leaders. A State Department official said on Tuesday that the administration wanted to first ensure it was in "lockstep" with allies before engaging with Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, shown at a supermarket in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province, on Thursday, still has not spoken with US President Joe Biden. Photo: Xinhua alt=Chinese President Xi Jinping, shown at a supermarket in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province, on Thursday, still has not spoken with US President Joe Biden. Photo: Xinhua

Beijing has appealed to Washington to walk back the Trump administration's "misguided policies", but Biden's picks for two top diplomatic posts - Antony Blinken as secretary of state and Linda Thomas-Greenfield for ambassador to the United Nations - have signalled that the new administration will pursue a hardline and multilateral approach to challenging China's actions.

Earlier on Thursday, members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the nomination of Thomas-Greenfield, who vowed to combat China's "authoritarian agenda" at the UN. Her nomination moves to the full Senate for consideration, but the panel's 18-4 vote in her favour all but guarantees her ultimate approval.

The State Department's special envoy for climate, John Kerry, also recently signalled that US grievances with China, including intellectual property theft, market access and Beijing's actions in the South China Sea, would "never be traded for anything that has to do with climate".

Ahead of his address, Biden and US Vice-President Kamala Harris met with State Department staff to thank them for their service.

State Department career officials were a frequent target of attacks by Trump, who called the agency the "Deep State Department", referring to a conspiracy theory that a secret cabal of government workers was plotting to undermine his presidency.

In a veiled jab at his predecessor, Biden told the staffers: "In our administration, you're going to be trusted, and you're going to be empowered."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2021. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.