US Election 2020: President Trump and rival Biden divided on foreign policy

US President Donald Trump won in 2016 with an "America First" policy, reversing trade deals he considered unfair and forcing US allies to pay more for joint defense activities.

Democratic candidate Joe Biden and US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters

Below are the foreign policy differences between the two candidates running for US President in 2020 on specific issues.

China

Under the timePresident Trump, the US-China relationship has plunged to a historic low with tensions escalating across a range of areas. Mr. Trump asserted that he was the first US president in decades to stand up to China. The leader's campaign also accused Mr. Biden of giving in to China as many manufacturing jobs in the US were lost.

Meanwhile, the formerVice President Bidenresponded that the Trump administration's response to the Covid-19 pandemic was a historic mistake, and said that Mr. Trump had downplayed the US intelligence community's warnings about the severity of the pandemic.

After waging a trade war with China for nearly two years, in January 2020, the Trump administration reached a phase 1 trade deal with Beijing, but since then, the US leader has "closed the door" to negotiating phase 2, while expressing dissatisfaction with China's ability to respond to the pandemic.

According to Mr. Biden, China is the "catalyst" that increases chaos in the Trump administration, the US's growing distance from its allies, and Washington's declining leadership role in global organizations.

The former US Vice President also affirmed that he will change this by promoting multilateral cooperation and strengthening relations with allies to deal with China.

Iran

President Trump has questioned the benefits of US military intervention in the Middle East, especially in the 2013 Iraq war, and has withdrawn the US from the Iran nuclear deal signed under President Obama along with Russia and European countries.

As for Mr. Biden, this Democratic candidate said he would engage with Iran through diplomatic channels and bring the US back to the 2015 nuclear deal but only if Iran resumes compliance with the requirements of the agreement on its nuclear program first.

After Iranian and US proxy forces clashed in Iraq, President Trump ordered an airstrike in January 2020 that killed Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani.

According to Mr. Biden, the airstrike "put the US and Iran on a collision course", so the Democratic candidate proposed to limit the concentration of US troops in the Middle East, while increasing cooperation with regional allies.

Mr. Biden also wants to end US support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen while President Trump has an opposing view on this.

Chosen

President Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un three times in 2018 and 2019, but those efforts did not help the negotiations between the two sides make much progress.

Biden accused Trump of making concessions to North Korea without achieving significant results. The Democratic candidate affirmed that he would not meet with Kim Jong Un without preconditions.

Afghanistan

President Trump has said he wants to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan to end America's longest war in the country.

In February, the Trump administration reached an agreement with the Taliban for a phased withdrawal of US forces. Afghan and Taliban negotiators held their first face-to-face talks on September 15, 2020.

Democratic candidate Joe Biden also affirmed that he would bring most US troops home from Afghanistan, while narrowing the focus on the mission of fighting terrorist and extremist Islamic organizations such as al Qaeda and IS there.

Israel

Like his predecessors, Mr. Trump has vowed to secure peace between Israel and Palestine, but words and actions do not seem to match.

The Trump administration moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem in 2018, a move seen as a nod to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but angered Palestinians.

Not only that, in 2019, the Trump administration officially recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, reversing long-standing US policy there and causing discontent among many other countries.

In August, in what was seen as a rare victory for US diplomacy in the region, President Trump brokered a deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to normalize diplomatic relations. Israel later said it would suspend plans to annex parts of the West Bank.

A month later, in September 2020, Bahrain followed the UAE in agreeing to normalize relations with Israel. On this issue, Mr. Biden said he welcomed the above agreements and said that if elected, he would "advance relations to make progress on a two-state solution" in the Middle East.

Relations with allies

If elected, Mr. Biden would rejoin the Paris climate change agreement and strengthen ties with U.S. alliances such as NATO, moves the Democratic candidate says would restore America’s global leadership and credibility that were damaged under President Trump.

Mr Trump angered NATO members and other US allies by refusing to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin, even after US intelligence officials concluded that the Russian military interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Meanwhile, Mr Biden warned Russia, China and other countries that meddling in US elections would face severe consequences.

In June 2020, President Trump announced that he would cut 9,500 US troops in Germany, a move that was criticized by Democrats and some Republicans who said the US-German alliance would help counter the influence of Russia and China in the world.

Biden's campaign advisers also expressed concern about the Trump administration's moves, and affirmed that the Democratic candidate would address the issue if he were elected President./.

Kieu Anh