Joe Biden and Xi Jinping bonded on basketball courts when they were vice-presidents. Today their relationship has turned tense as they tussle over Taiwan and trade. But the war in Ukraine is also consuming much of President Biden’s attention. Host Anne McElvoy asks Wendy Sherman, America’s deputy secretary of state, how the administration is balancing its two biggest foreign-policy challenges as well as its renewed focus on the Indo-Pacific. And the steely negotiator discusses the frustrating reality of high-stakes talks.

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