Lindsey Ford has written extensively on U.S.-China relationship and the Indo-Pacific region. Ford’s view aligns with President Biden’s emphasis on reengaging U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific and reinforcing U.S. global leadership. In an opinion piece she published on Foreign Policy in June 2020, Ford wrote:

“U.S. policy needs to start supporting, rather than attempting to commandeer, regional efforts to build a less China-centric future for the Indo-Pacific. U.S. leaders need to recognize that while Chinese aggression provides a powerful motivation for closer coordination, U.S. partners are seeking an agenda that is framed in much broader terms than simply rallying to counter Beijing. Asian countries have strong, historically rooted ideas about their own security and the future of the region. U.S. leaders should recall the longstanding resonance of the Non-Aligned Movement in a region that resists a ‘new Cold War’ framing. Australia’s efforts to call for a COVID-19 investigation through the WHO, as well as Japan’s desire to take the lead on a G-7 statement on Hong Kong, reflect not just an effort to push back on Beijing. They also reflect concern that a U.S.-led approach may box them into an untenable corner.”

Similar to most of the foreign policy figures under the Biden-Harris administration, while acknowledging that the competition between China and the United States is imminent, Ford also rejects the idea of a “new Cold War” with China. Ford’s most recent research at the Brooking Institution, Retooling America’s alliances to manage the China challenge, suggested that the U.S. should “establishing new multilateral forums and linkages between European and Indo-Pacific allies; refocusing U.S. allies on domestic resilience and collective defense of their own regions; establishing deeper interoperability not only in the military domain, but also in non-kinetic arenas; and pooling allied innovation advantages to counter China’s growing technological influence.”