- Blinken called China the most serious challenge to the global order
- In response, China says they both benefit from cooperation
WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) – The United States will not block China from growing its economy, but wants it to abide by international rules, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Thursday in a long-awaited speech on China’s strategy to tackle China’s rise. as a great power.
Washington will not try to change China’s political system, but will defend international law and institutions that maintain peace and security and make the countries coexist, he said.
“We are not looking for conflict or a new Cold War. On the contrary, we are determined to avoid both,” Blinken said in a 45-minute speech at George Washington University that covered most contentious bilateral issues.
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US-China relations have fallen to their lowest level in decades under former President Donald Trump and deteriorated since the time of President Joe Biden, a Democrat who maintained his Republican predecessor’s ambitious tariffs on Chinese goods while pursuing closer ties. with allies to repel Beijing.
Seventeen months after his rule, Biden has faced criticism from Republicans and some foreign policy observers for failing to announce a formal strategy for China, the world’s second-largest economy and a major strategic rival to Washington.
External crises, including last year’s confused US withdrawal from Afghanistan and Russia’s war in Ukraine, have dispelled Biden, who has vowed not to allow China to overtake the United States as its world leader in surveillance.
However, his administration has sought to take advantage of new solidarity with allies, fueled by Ukraine’s crisis and the unrestricted partnership China announced with Moscow just weeks before Russia’s invasion of its neighbor on February 24th.
THE MOST SERIOUS LONG-TERM CHALLENGE
Blinken said China was “the most serious long-term challenge for the international order.”
He outlined a strategy for investing in US competitiveness and agreeing with allies and partners to compete with China, calling the competition “ours to lose.”
He said the Biden administration was ready to increase direct communication with Beijing across a range of issues and would “answer in the affirmative” if Chinese officials took action to address the concerns.
“But we cannot count on Beijing to change its trajectory. So we will shape the strategic environment around Beijing to develop our vision of an open and inclusive international system,” he said.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken participates in a virtual bilateral meeting with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta during a video conference at the State Department in Washington, DC, USA, April 27, 2021. REUTERS / Leah Millis / Pool / File Photo
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In response, the Chinese embassy in Washington said that the United States and China share “broad common interests and deep potential for cooperation” and “competition … should not be used to determine the overall picture of China-US relations.”
“China and the United States will benefit from cooperation and lose from the confrontation,” said embassy spokesman Liu Pengu.
He noted a virtual summit between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last November, saying relations were “at a critical juncture”.
“We hope that the United States will work with China to seriously implement the common understanding reached by the two leaders, to improve communication, manage differences and focus on cooperation,” he said.
“REPRESSIVE” AND “AGGRESSIVE”
As Blinken attributes the hard work of the Chinese people to the historical and economic transformation of their country over the past four decades, he spoke directly to Xi Jinping, saying:
“Under President Xi, the ruling Chinese Communist Party has become more repressive at home and more aggressive abroad.
Blinken’s speech coincided with the start of the Chinese Foreign Minister’s extensive tour of the Pacific island nations, an increasingly tense front in the competition for influence between Beijing and Washington. Read more
The speech was postponed earlier in May after Blinken tested positive for COVID-19, followed by a month of intense US diplomacy focused on the Indo-Pacific region, including Biden’s first trip as president to the region. Read more
Blinken reiterated the United States’ commitment to China’s policy toward China’s claimed democratic Taiwan, although Biden said earlier this week that the United States would intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan.
Washington has a long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity over whether to defend Taiwan militarily, and Biden and aides later said his remarks did not reflect a change in policy. Read more
Under China’s policy, Washington officially recognizes Beijing diplomatically, although it is required by law to provide Taiwan with remedies. Blinken said that was unchanged and that Washington did not support Taiwan’s independence.
“What has changed is Beijing’s growing coercion as an attempt to sever Taiwan’s ties with countries around the world and block it from participating in international organizations,” he said, referring to China’s near-daily activities near China. the island is “deeply destabilizing”.
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Report by Michael Martina, Humeira Pamuk, David Brunstrom and Doina Chiaku; Edited by Stephen Coates and Howard Goller
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