The first round of the Trump-Biden presidential debate was uninspiring by all counts. At a time of great flux in the international order, the poor performance of the gerontocratic contenders has got diplomatic allies increasingly worried about US executive leadership. For some in the Western intelligentsia, the debate sends worrisome signals about American democracy and strengthens the hands of Moscow and Beijing. Biden and Trump touched only fleetingly the most pressing foreign policy issue: the China challenge. Trump accused Biden of being a “Manchurian candidate” who gets paid by China. In the Biden administration’s continuation of Trump’s tariff on China, the former president saw a vindication of his trade policy. He even went to the extent of accusing Biden of being on Chinese payroll without evidence. Biden, in turn, was critical of Trump’s policy proposal of levying a 10 per cent tariff on all incoming imports to the US.
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- India
