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On Thursday, Biden’s choice for U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tai said she would prioritize rebuilding our international alliances and partnerships, and re-engaging with international institutions to present Beijing with a united front of US allies. She delivered his words in front of the Senate Finance Committee in a confirmation hearing. Tai dodged questions on two politically sensitive questions including whether the Biden administration would drop President Donald Trump s tariffs on imported steel and aluminum and whether it would revive former President Barack Obama’s Asia-Pacific trade deal that was jettisoned by Trump. Tai is expected to be confirmed easily. In a rare sign of bipartisan agreement, the top Democrat (Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts) and Republican (Rep. Keven Brady of Texas) on the House Ways and Means Committee appeared before the Senate panel in support of Tai.

It is noteworthy that Tai served several years as head of China enforcement at the trade representative’s office. She said, “I know firsthand how critically important it is that we have a strategic and coherent plan for holding China accountable to its promises and effectively competing with its model of state-directed economics″. Point to be noted that Trump slapped taxes on $360 billion in Chinese imports in a fight over Beijing’s sharp-elbowed efforts to promote its own technology companies and challenge the United States in fields such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence. The Biden administration hasn’t indicated whether they will keep Trump’s tariffs. But the new administration is unlikely to reverse course on Beijing. The US legislators and policymakers across the political spectrum have taken an increasingly harder line on China, frustrated by its trade practices, the crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, and claims in the South China Sea.

Tai said, “We must recommit to working relentlessly with others to promote and defend our shared values of freedom, democracy, truth, and opportunity in a just society”. Tai wouldn’t commit to dropping the tax on foreign metals under questioning from senators. She did say that tariffs are a legitimate tool in the trade toolbox. Tai likewise ducked a question about whether the Biden administration would revive the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a pact with 11 Pacific Rim countries negotiated by Obama. The pact excluded and was partly meant to isolate China and cement US ties with other Asian countries. Trump called the TPP a job killer and withdrew from it in his first week in office. The pact also faced considerable opposition in Biden’s Democratic Party.