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Joe Biden said Monday that America was stronger on the global stage than it had been for decades, in a swansong foreign policy speech one week before Donald Trump's White House comeback. The outgoing US president took aim at Russia, China and Iran, and urged the West to maintain support for Ukraine in an address at the State Department setting out his international legacy.

But Biden's unspoken target was Trump as he touted his rebuilding of international alliances over the last four years after his Republican rival's chaotic first term. "The United States is winning the worldwide competition compared to four years ago," said Biden, after diplomats at the State Department gave him a standing ovation.

"America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker." The Democrat added that America's ties with its allies were the strongest "in decades," and said partners in the NATO military alliance were now "paying their fair share."

Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO countries, at one point saying he would encourage Russia to do "whatever the hell it wants" to allies that did not pay their way. The incoming president has also previously expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin – but Biden mocked Putin over the progress of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"When Putin invaded, he thought he'd conquer Kyiv in a matter of days. The truth is, since that war began I'm the only one that stood in the center of Kyiv, not him," said Biden. Biden became the first sitting US president to visit a warzone not controlled by American forces when he made a top secret visit to Ukraine's capital in 2023.

He said the United States and its allies "can't walk away" from Ukraine, to which Washington has sent billions of dollars in military aid since the war started in 2022.

China won't 'surpass' US. "There is more to do," said Biden.

Trump has vowed to get a Russia-Ukraine peace deal "in 24 hours" and there are fears in Kyiv he may force a ceasefire that sees Ukraine cede territory to Moscow.

Biden meanwhile insisted that China would "never surpass us" and that the United States would remain the world's dominant superpower. "According to the latest predictions, on China's current course they will never surpass us – period," Biden said.

He added that Washington managed its complex ties with Beijing and that the relationship "never tipped over into conflict" in his four years as president. Biden's speech was more restrained on Israel's war in Gaza, with his administration facing criticism from within his own party for its unstinting support of Israel.

But he said a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal was "on the brink" of "finally coming to fruition." The Democrat also defended another major foreign policy fiasco – the fall of Afghanistan's US-backed government to the Taliban and the bloody US withdrawal of 2021.

"Ending the war was the right thing to do. And I believe history will reflect that," Biden said. The 82-year-old president finally urged the Trump administration to continue Biden's green energy policies, saying climate deniers under Trump were "dead wrong" and "come from a different century." Biden's foreign policy speech will be followed by a farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office in primetime on Wednesday.

Greg Barnes, CEO of privately held Tanbreez Mining, said U.S. officials who visited the project in southern Greenland twice last year had repeatedly shared a message with the cash-strapped company: do not sell the large deposit to a Beijing-linked buyer.

Barnes ultimately sold Tanbreez to New York-based Critical Metals (CRML.O), as part of a complex deal that will be complete later this year. Tanbreez aims to mine 500,000 metric tons annually of the crimson rare earths-containing mineral eudialyte as soon as 2026.

"There was a lot of pressure not to sell to China," Tony Sage, CEO of Critical Metals, told Reuters. Barnes accepted payment of $5 million cash and $211 million in Critical Metals stock for Tanbreez, far less than Chinese firms offered, Sage said.

Barnes said offers from Chinese and other parties were not relevant because they had not clearly outlined how they could pay.

Neither executive disclosed which officials they met with or identified the Chinese companies that made offers.

Moving onto the next section

Critical Metals applied for funding to develop a rare earths processing facility from the U.S. Department of Defense last year, but the review process has stalled ahead of Trump taking office on Jan. 20. Sage said he expects talks to resume after Trump's inauguration and that Trump's transition team has already contacted him.

"We're already in discussions with the U.S. to sell (rare earths) to the U.S. and build the processing plant in the U.S.," he said.

Critical Metals' third-largest investor is brokerage firm Cantor Fitzgerald (CNTOR.UL), led by Howard Lutnick, who Trump nominated to run the U.S. Commerce Department. Sage said he has never met or talked to Lutnick, but acknowledged Cantor's investment is a positive for his company.

The Tanbreez deposit is about 30% heavy rare earths, which are used widely in defense applications. The site also contains gallium, which China imposed export restrictions on last year.

Critical Metals has held supply talks with defense contractor Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), and has upcoming talks with RTX (RTX.N), and Boeing (BA.N), Sage said.

Shipping company with eyes on Kirkenes is blacklisted by the USA

Several Chinese companies present in Norway are accused of having military ties.

The U.S. military has placed China's large shipping company China Ocean Shipping Company (Cosco) on its "blacklist."

The company has invested in ports internationally and has also shown interest in the port of Kirkenes.

The company is now on the U.S. Department of Defense's list of Chinese companies allegedly linked to the Chinese military, which Cosco denies.

Professor Kåre Dahl Martinsen at the Institute for Defense Studies wrote a book on geopolitical economic warfare last year. He says this is a clear signal from the American authorities.

– It is a signal from the USA to China that "we are keeping an eye on you."

– What kind of list is this?

– This is a warning list from the American authorities. They consider that this company serves the interests of the Chinese military and they warn American public actors against using it.

Interest in Kirkenes

Cosco has gained an increasingly stronger foothold in European ports in recent years.

They have established themselves in Rotterdam and Antwerp, and also manage the port of Piraeus in Athens, which is one of the most important ports in Europe.

As recently as 2022, Cosco also acquired a stake in the port of Hamburg in Germany, despite warnings from the EU Commission. They feared that sensitive information about the activities in the port could be sent to the Chinese authorities.

In Norway, the Intelligence Service has pointed this out and warned against it happening here as well.

Even though Cosco has an office in Norway, the group has no container ships or terminals in the country. They use local partners to transport their goods.

They offer shipping to and from the ports in Kristiansand, Brevik, Larvik, Oslo, Moss, Fredrikstad, Bergen, Ålesund, Tananger, Orkanger, Haugesund, Måløy, and Sortland.

In Kirkenes, the company has shown clear interest in further activity at the port there.

The mayor of Kirkenes, Magnus Mæland, believes that the U.S. "blacklisting" of Cosco illustrates how Kirkenes is a unique place that must deal with what happens in the rest of the world.

– We already know that the security authorities have been clear about the risks of Chinese presence. The relationship with China is a difficult balancing act where it is in Norway's interest to trade with China. But at the same time, we must be careful not to become dependent, says Mæland.

"It is clear that when Norway's closest allies blacklist companies, it is something the Norwegian authorities must take into account." This is complicated, and once again I must refer to the government on how this should be addressed, says the mayor of Kirkenes.

NRK has previously reported how the port manager in Kirkenes worked for a year and a half to establish a collaboration with Cosco.

According to Kirkenes port, the dialogue has revolved around leasing or using areas, but the port should still have Norwegian owners.

After NRK reported on the dialogue between Kirkenes port and the Chinese state-owned company, the government issued a clear message that they would not allow Chinese establishments.

Hope the Cosco-flirt is put on hold

Kåre Dahl Martinsen, who is a professor of Norwegian security policy at the Norwegian Defence University College, believes that the U.S. blacklisting of Cosco should have consequences for the assessment in Kirkenes.

– I hope this leads to the Cosco plans in Kirkenes being put on hold.

– Why is that?

"If this is a company that both the USA and the EU consider a tool for Chinese influence, then one must ask whether we should allow Kirkenes port to become a place where China can exert significant influence, when the port plays a key role in Norwegian preparedness," says Dahl Martinsen, referring to warnings against Cosco in the EU parliament.

Now he points out that Kirkenes is NATO's closest port to the Russian Northern Fleet.

– We are increasingly seeing that China and Russia are operating together. They are not there just for the sake of it.

Cosco responds

NRK has contacted Cosco Norway for a comment. They refer to a statement from the headquarters, which says they will contact the Pentagon to be removed from the list of companies that are warned against.

"Cosco Shipping and its subsidiaries have always followed local laws and regulations, and adhered to strict compliance in all international operations."

We emphasize that none of the mentioned companies are "Chinese military companies." We will work with U.S. authorities to clarify this. Being on this list does not entail any sanctions or export controls, and our global activities are not affected by this," the statement from the headquarters reads.

More companies on the list

The main purpose of the American list, according to U.S. authorities, is to identify and dissuade American companies from doing business with these entities. The list is updated regularly and was released in a new edition on January 7.

In addition to Cosco Shipping, several well-known Chinese companies were listed:

• Tencent – which owns Norway's largest gaming company Funcom
• CATL – the car battery manufacturer that supplies Tesla batteries
• China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) – which is one of Equinor's Chinese partners

From earlier, other friends of Norway are also on the list:

• ChinaChem, which owns Elkem
• The technology company Huawei
• Drone giant DJI
• The video surveillance companies Hikvision and Dahua
• China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) is another state-owned company on the list, primarily engaged in engineering and construction activities.

The relevant ministries have not yet provided any answers to NRK's questions about the matter.