Biden vowed today that the U.S. would once again work alongside its democratic allies to fight autocratic government, including Russia & China

President Joe Biden vowed on Sunday that the U.S. would once again work alongside its democratic allies to fight autocratic governments, singling out both Russia and China for aggressive behavior.

Biden never spoke about his commitment to reengage America on the world stage after four years of Donald Trump’s “America First” policies.

“We’re in a contest … with autocrats, autocratic governments around the world, as to whether or not democracies can compete with them in a rapidly changing 21st century,” Biden said at the Newquay airport in the southwest part of the country.

Biden repeatedly said his goal wasn’t conflict with adversaries but to find points of compromise. Still, he said, where leaders fail to act with behavior that is “consistent with international norms,” the U.S. will respond and hold the countries accountable.

“How we act, whether we pull together as democracies, is going to determine whether our grandkids look back 15 years from now and say, ‘Did they step up? Are democracies as relevant and as powerful as they had been?’” Biden said.

On Sunday, the world's wealthy democracies agreed to challenge China’s economic and human rights policies after spending days tussling over how explicitly to admonish the country in a joint declaration.

“China has to start to act more responsibly in terms of international norms on human rights and transparency,” Biden said. “Transparency matters across the board.”

The president, who was pressed on whether the world leaders had taken enough action against China, noted that China wasn’t mentioned the last time the G-7 leaders convened. “What I think you’re going to see is straightforward dealing with China,” he said.

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