Biden seizes the chance to make his next moves in the geopolitical chess match with China and Russia

President Joe Biden this week has confronted escalating tensions with China and Russia, testing his ability to manage antagonistic leaders and forcing other countries to pick sides.

In just the last two days, Biden's White House has announced that American diplomats would boycott the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China and the President held a secure video call with Vladimir Putin in which he made clear the US is ready to impose economic penalties should Moscow escalate military action in Ukraine.

"One nation can't force another nation to change its border; one nation cannot tell another to change its politics; and nations can't tell others who they can work with," Biden told the Russian leader, according to an official familiar with the conversation.

Two days later, Biden will convene a democracy summit designed as a show-of-force against authoritarian regimes, hoping to make an argument for democracy at the same time he presses his allies to take a harder line against countries like Russia and China.