Joe Biden's top foreign policy challenge is to avoid a cold war with China

Taiwan and the South China Sea are the likeliest points of conflict - but conflict is not an option

President Joe Biden’s administration faces a host of difficult problems, but in foreign policy its thorniest will be its relations with the People’s Republic of China.

How the new administration handles issues of trade, security, and human rights will either allow both countries to hammer out a working relationship or pull the US into an expensive — and unwinnable — cold war that will shelve existential threats like climate change and nuclear war.

The stakes could not be higher — and Washington may be off on the wrong foot.

The first hurdle will be the toxic atmosphere created by the