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WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden pointed to a “growing rivalry with China” as a key challenge facing the United States, and his top diplomat described the Asian country as “the greatest geopolitical test” of this century.
The administration put its thinking into a 24-page document outlining Biden’s national security policies alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s first major foreign policy speech.
“It is the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military and technological might to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system,” China’s national security document said.
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He added that in the face of challenges from China and Russia, the US military would shift its emphasis from “unnecessary legacy platforms and weapons systems to free up resources for investment” in cutting-edge technologies.
The United States and China disagree on influence in the Indo-Pacific region, the economic practices of Beijing, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and human rights in China’s Xinjiang region. The Biden administration has indicated that it will continue a generally tough approach to China taken by Trump, but will do so in coordination with allies.
“Our relationship with China will be competitive when it needs to be, collaborative when it can, and adversarial when it needs to be,” Blinken said at an event at the State Department.
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Engaging with China “from a position of strength,” as the administration seeks to do, “requires upholding our values when human rights are abused in Xinjiang or when democracy is trampled on in Hong Kong, because if we don’t, China will. act with greater impunity, “said Blinken.
Blinken has said that he agrees with his predecessor Mike Pompeo’s determination that genocide against Muslims is underway in Xinjiang, but did not use the term in his speech.
Activists and UN experts say 1 million Uighur Muslims are being held in Chinese camps. China denies the abuses and says its camps offer vocational training and are necessary to fight extremism.
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While Blinken spoke about Iran, the conflict in Yemen and Myanmar as potential challenges, China was the only nation that said it was one of eight priorities, which also included avoiding another global pandemic, addressing climate change and promoting democracy abroad. .
Biden wants to mark a break from former President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach by reengaging with allies and focusing multilateral diplomacy, while acknowledging that the world has changed since he served in the Obama administration that preceded Trump. .
Blinken sought to establish how foreign policy will bring benefits to American workers and families, and said that was key to the new administration’s approach.
“We will fight for every American job and for the rights, protections and interests of all American workers,” Blinken said.
