Read previewPresident Joe Biden on Wednesday pitched his version of US-China relations to steelworkers in Pennsylvania — that Beijing isn't only failing to catch up, but struggling on its own.
"They've got a population that is more people in retirement than working," Biden said of China.
Those were some of the harshest comments Biden has ever made about China, though it's unclear how the president calculated his retirement figures.
Instead of posturing himself a Mr. Fix-It, or a lone warrior fighting the good fight against a strong Beijing, Biden on Wednesday told blue-collar workers that the competition, as it stands, already favors America by a landslide.
AdvertisementThe metals industry provides more than 120,000 jobs in Pennsylvania and some $33 billion in economic output, per an April 2023 report published by the Pennsylvania Steel Alliance.
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