To take on China, US must get its own house in order: National Security Adviser

America's most profound national security challenge is getting its own house in order, top national security official Jake Sullivan said as he called domestic renewal the first major step the United States needs to take to compete effectively with China.

"President Joe Biden has really reinforced for us that foreign policy is domestic policy and domestic policy is foreign policy," said Mr Sullivan, who is Mr Biden's National Security Adviser, at an event on Friday held by the Washington-based United States Institute of Peace.

America right now faces serious challenges at home: the Covid-19 pandemic, an economic crisis, a climate crisis, acute threats to its basic constitutional republic and deep divisions, he said.

"We have to put ourselves in a position of strength to deal with the challenges we face around the world. Establishing that position of strength has to be the fundamental early work of this administration," he added.

This centring of domestic concerns is unsurprising given the upheaval at home, but Mr Sullivan made clear that Mr Biden would twin this with an embrace of international institutions.

In brief remarks, he laid out a vision of how the Biden administration would tackle US strategic competition with China.

"Step one... is to refurbish the fundamental foundations of our democracy. That goes for everything from our democratic system itself to issues of racial inequity, economic inequality - all of the things that have contributed to the shine coming off the American model over the course of time," he said.

Second, America has to move in lockstep with democratic allies and partners, he added.

Mr Sullivan said the Biden administration will build on the Quad - the informal grouping of the US, Australia, India and Japan - and sees it as "foundation upon which to build substantial American policy in the Indo-Pacific region".

Third, America has to make sure it leads the world in key technologies of the future, by working with other countries and making aggressive public investments at home to stay on the cutting edge, he said.

Lastly, the US has to be prepared to impose costs on China for its policies in Xinjiang and Hong Kong and the "bellicosity of threats it is projecting towards Taiwan", Mr Sullivan added.

"This administration is intent at every level, from the President across to the State Department, the Defence Department and every embassy around the world, to speaking with that clarity and consistency of voice."