U.S. Secretary of State John Blinken says China poses “the most significant challenge” to the United States in an exclusive interview with CNN’s MSNBC on Monday (Feb. 1). Blinken also criticized Beijing for not being transparent with the international community about the New coronavirus outbreak. The new chief U.S. diplomat also said in the interview that the U.S.-China relationship is a complex one, with antagonistic and competitive aspects as well as cooperative ones.
Secretary Blinken was asked several times about China during an exclusive interview Monday with MSNBC’s “The Mitchell Report” with host Andrea Mitchell.
Asked whether he would act if China were to take action against Taiwan and whether the United States might have a military conflict with China in the future, Blinken replied, “There’s no question that China poses the most significant challenge to us of any country, but it’s a complex challenge. There are aspects of the U.S.-China relationship that are antagonistic, there are certainly aspects of competition, and there are some aspects of cooperation. But whatever aspect of the relationship we are dealing with, we have to be able to be in a position of strength rather than weakness to deal with China.”
The secretary of state, who has worked with and trusted President Biden for a long Time, said the U.S. advantageous position comes from its strong alliances, which China does not have; active U.S. involvement in global as well as international institutions; defending U.S. values when China challenges them; and ensuring that the U.S. military can deter Chinese aggression as well as invest in the American people so they can compete fully.
The good news, Blinken said in the interview, is that each of these factors that ensure the U.S. is in a superior position is entirely within the control of the United States.
“In many ways, the challenge posed by China has as much to do with China’s emerging strength as it does with some of our self-inflicted weaknesses. But we can address those weaknesses. Indeed, we can also rebuild better in this area in terms of building stronger alliances, engaging with the world, defending our values, investing in our people and making sure our military posture is appropriate,” Blinken said.
On the question of whether President Biden would rescind the tariffs his predecessor, President Trump, imposed on China, Blinken said the Biden Administration is deliberating on that. He said they have to make sure that every time they take action, the first question they ask is is this advancing the interests of their own people? Making them more prosperous? Promoting their security? Expanding their values? He said that on the issue of tariffs, the question the Biden administration is asking is whether raising tariffs will do more damage to the United States or to China?
Turning to the new coronavirus outbreak, Blinken said there is no question that at the beginning of the outbreak and right now, the Chinese government has not done enough to provide the necessary information to the international community and to get experts into China to understand the situation.
“All of that – the lack of transparency, the lack of candor – is a profound problem, and it’s a problem that continues,” Blinken said.
When the moderator pressed him on whether China should pay the price for its mishandling of the outbreak, Blinken replied, “I think we have to focus on getting a full understanding of what happened and holding people accountable — there’s an investigation underway — but especially making sure that we’re taking steps to prevent a recurrence.”
He made the same statement when asked about the issue during a Senate nomination hearing.
Blinken also criticized the Chinese authorities for “egregious actions” in Hong Kong that undermine the commitments it made when sovereignty over Hong Kong was transferred from Britain. He said the United States should join Britain in opening the door to those fleeing political persecution in Hong Kong.
On the issue of U.S. adversaries using the attack on the U.S. Capitol to attack American democracy, Blinken said in an interview with MSNBC that there was another side to the event, namely that U.S. congressmen returned to the halls of Congress that day and showed the world that American democracy is resilient. In his view, this is a powerful and positive message that the United States can carry forward.
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