China Fear: Biden Announces Creation of New Pentagon Task Force

By Staff, Agencies

US President Joe Biden announced that a new Pentagon task force will be assembled to address matters related to China.

Visiting the War Department on Wednesday, Biden stated that "The task force will work quickly, drawing on civilian and military experts across the department to provide within the next few months recommendations to Secretary Austin on key priorities and decision points so that we can chart a strong path forward on China-related matters. That's how we will meet the China challenge and ensure the American people win the competition in the future.”

According to a Pentagon fact sheet, the task force will provide "baseline assessment" of Pentagon policies, programs and processes on the affairs related to China and provide "key recommendations and decision points" to the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

The task force, which will employ up to 15 civilian and uniformed military employees, will be led by the Special Assistant to the War Secretary Ely Ratner.

Areas covered by the task force will include strategy, operational concepts, intelligence, Force management, technology and military relations with China, among other things.

Biden previously said that Beijing should expect "extreme competition" with the US, noting that the White House does not seek conflict. As Biden moved to undo a majority of Trump's policies in his first days in office, China particularly welcomed his decision to rejoin the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement.