Biden’s Pick for Secretary Of State Will Try to Rebuild Alliances

Biden’s Pick for Secretary Of State Will Try to Rebuild Alliances

The Presidential TransitionLatest UpdatesElection ResultsTracking DisinformationChief of StaffCabinet ContendersDealBook Business and PolicyDealBook NewsletterIn choosing Tony Blinken as secretary of state, the Biden team suggests a return to global cooperation.By Andrew Ross Sorkin, Jason Karaian, Michael J. de la Merced, Lauren Hirsch and Ephrat LivniImageImage“While Mr. Trump is building walls, Mr. Xi is building bridges,” Tony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden's pick for Secretary of State, wrote in 2017. Credit...Henry Romero/ReutersA return to global alliances?In choosing Tony Blinken, a longtime foreign policy aide, as his secretary of state, President-elect Joe Biden is indicating that he wants to return to a world of international alliances and cooperation, after four years of combative “America First” policies under President Trump.Mr. Blinken's first priority will be rejoining global agreements and institutions, The Times reports. That includes returning the U.S. to the Paris climate accord — which Mr. Biden has made a top priority — and remaining in the World Health Organization. He has also spoken of making Europe a partner of “first resort, not last resort,” potentially defraying trade tensions with the E.U.“The world does not organize itself,” Mr. Blinken wrote in a 2017 Times Op-Ed. “In the absence of an engaged, diplomatically energized America, others will