The Biden administration released its National Security Strategy (NSS) on 12 October 2022, almost two years after Biden’s inauguration. Carefully drafted and relatively straightforward, the strategy asserts that the world “is at an inflection point” and that “we are now in the early years of a decisive decade for America and the world.” The administration promises to address what it calls “the twin challenges of our time: out-competing our rivals to shape the international order while tackling shared challenges.”
This first challenge focuses on two rivals: Russia and China. Russia is described as posing “an immediate threat” but China is labelled “the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.” In other words, this strategy (like that of the Trump administration) identifies China as America’s top national security concern.
