Healthy Economics

A strategic rethinking of US-China relations to foster global growth and public health

Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have." – Winston S. Churchill

Xi & Biden at APEC 23

It was just over a week ago that President Joe Biden and China’s leader Xi Jinping met in San Francisco, at the annual meeting of APEC, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum. Although it is difficult to point to a specific outcome, what was noticeable was the willingness of both sides to talk to one another, absent the bluster of wolf warrior diplomacy. Rebuilding trust is as hard to do as it is necessary.

Diplomatic relations have improved over the past year, but 58% of Americans view China as a critical threat to US interests according to a recent survey by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. (There were some anti-CCP protests during APEC, but they were dwarfed by other demonstrations related to the conflict in Gaza.)

Now that US jobs are no longer threatened by China, and the Chinese economy has itself slowed, what is the source of American animosity? Perhaps Taiwan, technological competition, or China’s form of government is to blame, but I believe public health concerns including Covid-19 and the fentanyl crisis are major contributors. Did Biden’s meeting with Xi help to create strong guardrails to deal with the import of synthetic opioids from China, and the next pandemic?