U.S. President Joe Biden is filling out his China policy team with staff whose past writing and speeches align with the tough tone toward Beijing that emerged under his predecessor Donald Trump, adding to evidence that the new administration won’t revert to an earlier era of conciliation.
Among the new hires is Melanie Hart, a former Center for American Progress senior fellow, who will help oversee a review of Trump administration policies including its Clean Network initiative, which pressed countries to bar Huawei Technologies Co. from their 5G telecommunications networks. In October, she co-wrote a report that highlighted the state subsidies fueling Huawei’s rise and advocated countervailing support to vendors from the U.S. and allied nations.
The China team also includes Ely Ratner at the Pentagon and Elizabeth Rosenberg at the Treasury Department. Both were previously at the Center for a New American Security. In a report co-authored with colleagues there — including three others who have joined the Biden administration — Ratner and Rosenberg called for an "international consortium” with Japan and the Netherlands to build semiconductors and diversify the supply chain.