The Biden Justice Department announced Wednesday that it would pull the plug on a Trump-era initiative aimed at cracking down on China’s economic espionage following a year of criticism from some fellow Democrats, hundreds of university professors, left-wing activists, and the Chinese Communist Party itself.

The China Initiative, which also sought to address the broader national security threat posed by China, could have been perceived as racist, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said. While he acknowledged that China poses an “evolving, significant threat,” Olsen said the previous administration did not take “the right approach.”