The United States needs to be prepared to impose costs on China for the Communist Party’s actions against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, its crackdown on Hong Kong and its threats to Taiwan, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at an event on Jan. 29.
The United States Institute of Peace held an online seminar Friday titled “Passing the Baton 2021: Securing America’s Future Together. The event featured Sullivan and his Trump administration national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, and was moderated by Condoleezza Rice, who served as secretary of state and national security adviser during the Bush administration. Speaking at the event, O’Brien emphasized that “as national security adviser, it’s your job to make sure the president gets the best options or policy advice.”
Echoing the theme of the “Passing the Baton” event, Sullivan told O’Brien, “Thank you for everything you’ve done to help me get into this position and to help get our team on board and up and running at a Time when we’re facing some pretty big challenges around the world. ” In his remarks, O’Brien, reflecting on his tenure, spoke of transnational criminal groups, something he “didn’t expect to see so much of” as Trump’s national security adviser. He mentioned the problems along the U.S.-Mexico border, adding that the Epidemic is likely to exacerbate the corresponding challenges.
O’Brien noted, “When we handed over the baton, we entrusted [the Biden administration] with a number of challenges, not the least of which was China. He continued, saying that on China “I think we have a bipartisan consensus.” O’Brien added that “we’re going to have a lot of continuity on U.S. foreign policy.” He said, “There’s a lot of consistency between the Republican and Democratic administrations.” Sullivan also said, “Iraq is an interesting story, with policy continuity from the Obama administration to the Trump Administration to the Biden Administration.”
Also on Afghanistan, Sullivan said, “We are taking a hard look at the extent to which the Taliban are complying with the terms they agreed to.” In that context, he said, “we will make decisions about the future of our troop deployment and diplomacy.” In his remarks, Sullivan emphasized that “foreign policy is domestic policy, domestic policy is foreign policy, and ultimately, right now, the most profound national security challenge facing the United States is getting our house in order.” He reiterated that as a matter of national security, “we need to make it our highest priority to deal with ongoing economic disruptions at Home and around the world.”
Sullivan said Washington needs to ensure clarity and consistency on China Policy issues and “be prepared to take action and also impose a price for what the Chinese Communist Party has done in Xinjiang, what it has done in Hong Kong, and the belligerence and threats against Taiwan.” He did not elaborate on the measures Washington might take. In response to U.S.-European relations, he noted that “the basis for us to prevail in geopolitical competition is our alliance relationship, and no alliance is more important than the transatlantic alliance.”
Sullivan noted that the China issue is at the top of the list of issues to be resolved between the U.S. and its European allies. He stressed the need to reach a joint response with the European side on China’s trade and technology abuses. He said, “We don’t all see eye to eye on every issue ……. I think China is at the top of the list of things we have to deal with together, and there is work that needs to be done there to get complete agreement.”
For her part, Rice, the event’s moderator, spoke, saying that “there is no more important message to send in this environment of ‘passing the baton’ than that of American foreign policy, and indeed, America is at its best when it can find bipartisan agreement on our values.”
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