The purpose of this paper is to examine the status of us-China strategic competition in the Asia-Pacific region during the Biden administration, focusing on US policy, and to suggest future policy directions for Korea.
The Biden administration inherits the Indo-Pacific strategy promoted by the Trump administration militarily, expanding the quad and strengthening alliances politically and diplomatically, and mobilizing allies and allies in the economic field to press China. It is also pushing for checks and decoupling policies on high-tech technologies such as semiconductors. The U.S.-China strategic competition is currently in the process of shifting from strategic competition to a new cold war as it progresses to a three-dimensional relationship of "competition, cooperation, and confrontation." As the U.S.-China strategic competition intensifies, Korea, which is an intermediate country between the U.S. and China, may be forced to choose between the U.S. and China, and may face difficulties in the process. In order to maintain peace, security, and prosperity, Korea needs to establish principles under the goal of promoting diplomacy based on national interests, and it is necessary to pursue policies that deal with each case and respond proactively and preemptively with strategic autonomy. It requires wisdom to respond flexibly to changing situations in the process.