President Joe Biden speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference in San Francisco once again emphasized all of his meaningless clichés: de-risking, or diversifying, or earlier it was de-escalating the economic relationship with China. Listen, and weep:

JOE BIDEN: "Let me be clear. We are de-risking and diversifying our economic relationship with the PRC, not decoupling. // We're going to continue our commitment to diplomacy, avoid surprises, prevent misunderstandings. A stable relationship between the world's two largest economies is not merely good for the two economies, but for the world."

The elephant in the living room that Mr. Biden will not confront is the fact that China's worldwide strategy is aimed squarely at upending America's influence and its commitment to democratic values. The United States is a democracy. It's a free country.

China is a communist country – not a democracy. It is totalitarian and repressive and it is most certainly not a free country. Joe Biden pretends not to notice this, but I think that's a big mistake. Americans are noticing it pretty well. I think one reason Mr. Biden's foreign policy approval ratings have fallen to rock bottom is that he avoids a realistic picture of the world scene.

MORTGAGE RATES DECLINE FOR 3RD CONSECUTIVE WEEK 

Especially on China – but we also see the same Biden instincts as he tries desperately to avoid conflict with Iran and, of course, his cut and run act in Afghanistan and his failure to deter Russia in Ukraine. The Biden policies are about appeasement, not deterrence. Ronald Reagan's policies were about deterrence, not appeasement. Reagan said, "We win, you lose. Reagan was never bashful about outlining the conflict with the old Soviet Union.

To my way of thinking, the Biden-Xi meetings were nothing more than a phony photo-op and, of course, Biden refuses to acknowledge that China's U.S.- sanction-breaking oil imports from Russia and Iran are financing two major wars against the United States. That is the reality.

A "stable relationship" preventing "misunderstandings" – to use Biden's words – would not include these outright attacks against America and it is so ironic that China is using the very fossil fuels to fight America that Joe Biden and all his greenie minions detest so much.

China has weaponized fossil fuels. Biden has surrendered. If Donald Trump's "drill, baby, drill" policies had continued into a second term, the U.S. would be somewhere around 15 or 16 million BPD right now, probably on the way to 18 million in a couple years.

At that pace, the world oil price would be something around $40 a barrel, not $80 or $100 or even $125 where it was a year and a half ago and if that were the case, then we wouldn't particularly care whether China was buying oil from Iran or Russia – it would just be a drop in the bucket.

This is so much a part of Joe Biden's sad tale as president. It's not just that the middle class has to pay so much more for energy, food and other necessities, or that real wages continue to decline, and working folks have huge problems affording the Biden economy. It's that Biden's socialist Green New Deal has enormously empowered China and this is fundamentally unstable.

So, by the way, is the $350 billion trade deficit, due in large part to China's continued unfair trading practices and then comes the greatest irony of all.

At this photo-op in San Francisco, the State Department announces a new era of "climate cooperation" with China, but wait a minute! Don't the Biden greenies know that China is the biggest polluter in the world? Wait another minute! In 2022, China permitted an average of two new coal-fired power plants per week. That's over 100!

They already lead the world with 1,118 coal plants and another 300 coal plants are in the pipeline. Personally, I don't care. I'm for clean coal and I want to end the war on fossil fuels. The Green New Deal is dragging the U.S. down, all over the world. I'm just sorry China is the one doing it and I blame Joe Biden for it. That's my riff.

This article is adapted from Larry Kudlow’s opening commentary on the November 16, 2023, edition of "Kudlow."