China relieved as Ukraine crisis dominates Biden's first Union address with US focus shifting to Russia

While Russia and Ukraine dominated Biden's much awaited address, China remained a "subtext".

A relieved China on Wednesday gave Joe Biden's "don’t bet against the American people" jibe against his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping a pass as the Ukraine crisis dominated the US President's maiden State of the Union address unlike the previous years where Beijing used to be a major theme.

Biden said the US and China were engaged in a race to "win the economic competition of the 21st century”, and vowed that the US was embarking on an “infrastructure decade”, announcing plans this year to fix more than 65,000 miles of highway and 1,500 bridges in disrepair.

"I've told Xi Jinping, it is never a good bet to bet against the American people. We'll create good jobs for millions of Americans, modernising roads, airports, ports, and waterways all across America. We will do it all to withstand the devastating effects of the climate crisis and promote environmental justice," Biden said in his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

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His remarks hardly ruffled any feathers here as the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which never let a US leader's remarks unchallenged gave it a pass in Wednesday’s briefing.

While Russia and Ukraine dominated Biden's much awaited address, China remained a "subtext".

"Biden’s one-hour speech contained just a handful of mentions for China. But the rising power, which his administration considers a major threat to US interests, was an unmistakable subtext to many of his comments about efforts to counter aggression by illiberal countries," the Hong Kong-based South Morning Post reported.