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If Biden's intent is to appear tough on China while winding down the antagonism left by his predecessor, then he might consider himself succeeding at the former but failing at the latter.

When he was battling Trump for the presidency, Biden liked to say "words matter" to distinguish himself from Trump. He should know that phrases like "extreme competition" and "maximum pressure" are dangerous to play with by a national leader because they indicate taking a hardened position on issues with little to no room for compromise. Donald Trump's administration tanked the U.S.'s international stature by recklessly imposing the country's will. Joe Biden's, at least by looking at its officials' rhetoric so far, has labored to make a distinction.

But to Biden's credit, he stated clearly where he thinks the difference is. He said during his "Face the Nation" interview: "It's not about punishing them for the COVID virus; it's about insisting that there be international norms that are established that they play by ... We need not have a conflict."

But that distinction is getting more and more blurry by the day. Biden's Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made clear that the U.S. is going to continue to have a running commentary on China's internal politics. In his call with Chinese top diplomat Yang Jiechi on February 5, Blinken said that the U.S. continues to stand for "human rights and democratic values, including in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong." He even pressed China to condemn the "military coup in Burma (Myanmar)," demanding China to interfere in its neighbors' affairs while refusing to give recognition to the name of the country that the UN approved.

The chief diplomat of the United States doesn't seem hesitant to provoke China.

Trump's America First might have ended semantically, but that instinct seems to have survived within the new administration. The Atlantic recent published an article titled "Joe Biden's 'America First' Vaccine Strategy," pointing out the reality with America back in the leadership position is "far less poetic." Biden's announcement on January 26 to purchase an additional 200 million doses of vaccine put the U.S.'s supply at 1.2 billion doses, which, according to the article, is "enough to inoculate the American population twice over".

"Far from supporting more equitable vaccine distribution around the world, the U.S. under Biden is continuing to undermine it, to the detriment of poorer nations, as well as itself," the article stated.

China tolerates no interference in its own affairs and certainly wouldn't dictate how others should run their country. But It is commonly acknowledged that the U.S. has undergone a major shift. Its attitude toward China has hardened and, as Biden himself said, the country will be tending to its domestic issues first. 

The Biden administration might need to appease the nationalistic factions in the U.S. before it gets to policy-building and negotiations. Maybe the The Atlantic article just has an eye-catching headline. Allowing a grace period and the benefit of the doubt are appropriate measures to take if they serve the greater good in the China-U.S. relationship.

But China can only extend so much patience and live with so much doubt. China has stated, as many times as it could, it is willing to work with the U.S. on resolving the disagreements between the two countries and tackling urgent international issues. However, China won't be smiling if Biden shows that his administration is nothing more than Trumps's second term.

There's a clock on the Biden administration to prove to everyone that it is going to be different, and it is ticking very fast. Biden might want to take notice and consider his moves carefully before time runs out.

Scriptwriter: Huang Jiyuan

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