US-China relations: Joe Biden vows to end America’s reliance on Chinese medical equipment
- ‘We will never again be at the mercy of China and other foreign countries in order to protect our own people,’ he tells Democratic Party convention
- Presidential candidate accuses Donald Trump of ‘cosying up to dictators’
American Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday vowed to end the United States’ reliance on China and other countries for medical equipment should he be elected.
Addressing the Democratic Party convention to formally accept his nomination, Biden accused Trump of “cosying up to dictators” and suggested he had failed to stand up for “human rights and dignity”.
His speech focused largely on domestic issues, particularly the country’s reckoning over systemic racism and the deadly fallout from the global health crisis.
“On day one we’ll implement the national strategy I’ve been laying out since March,” Biden said, addressing an empty room.
That strategy would include boosting US production of “medical supplies and protective equipment”, he said.