Joe Biden’s mission at the G7 summit: to recruit allies for the next cold war | Rafael Behr

The US risks being superseded by China as the prime global power within decades. For Washington, the idea is appalling

Joe Biden crosses the Atlantic this week on a tide of goodwill. After four years of Donald Trump, European leaders are grateful for the mere fact of a US president who believes in democracy and understands diplomacy.

Trump had no concept of historical alliance, strategic partnership or mutual interest. He saw multilateral institutions as conspiracies against US power, which he could not distinguish from his own ego. He heard European talk of a rules-based international order as the contemptible bleating of weakling nations.