Joe Biden introduces his “new cabinet” nominations at the Queen’s Theatre in Delaware on Nov. 24, 2020, followed by remarks from Antony Blinken, Biden’s choice for secretary of state. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)
On Feb. 1, new Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked by the press if the United States would take any action against Taiwan if the Chinese Communist Party did so. Blinken replied that this is a complex challenge. There is a confrontational side to the relationship, and of course there is a competitive side, as well as a side that can work together.
NBC News interviewed new Secretary of State Blinken, and the host asked Blinken, who had said during his nomination hearings that the Chinese Communist Party was the most significant threat to the United States and a threat to U.S. national interests. So if the Chinese Communist Party takes any action against Taiwan, will the U.S. take action? Is a future military confrontation with China possible?
Blinken replied: There is no question that the Chinese Communist Party poses the most significant challenge to us than any other country, but it is a complex challenge. There is a confrontational side to this relationship, and there is certainly a competitive side, and there is also some cooperation that can be had.
But whether we are dealing with any of these aspects of the relationship, we must be able to approach China [the CCP] from a position of strength, not weakness,” Blinken said.
Blinken also reiterated, “I think that strength comes from having strong alliances that China (CCP) doesn’t have; actually participating in world affairs and showing up in these international institutions because when we pull out, China (CCP) fills in and then they become the party that sets the rules and norms of those institutions.”
He said: we need to stand up for U.S. values when the Chinese challenge them, including the crackdown on the Uighurs in Xinjiang or democracy in Hong Kong; and ensure that the U.S. military is laid out so that it can deter Chinese aggression. And he said, “Each of the above is well within our control.”
The Epoch Times reports that the Biden Administration‘s political mantra is Build Back Better (BBB). In terms of specific foreign policy toward China, the Biden administration differs from the Trump administration’s “distrust + confirmation” principle. The Trump Administration emphasizes direct confrontation with the Chinese Communist Party, while the Biden administration emphasizes cooperation and alliance strategies in competition.
The day after Biden took office, on January 21, six core issues were removed from the State Department’s policy section of the website, compared to the State Department’s policy section under the Trump administration, where six items were removed: 5G security, the threat of China (CCP), illegal immigration, threats to regime Iran, Nicaragua’s return to democracy, and Venezuela’s democracy crisis.
Biden’s new administration’s State Department website policy issues show only 17 items, including: anti-corruption and transparency, arms control, climate and environmental protection, and the new crown (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
The Chinese Communist Threat is a new section launched by former Secretary of State Pompeo in November 2020 that outlines in detail the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party to global peace and security.
The first paragraph of the column reads that the CCP is the central threat of our Time, destabilizing the world and serving its own hegemonic ambitions. Despite its efforts to justify its evil deeds, the CCP, under the control of Xi Jinping, has expanded its power and influence in at least five ways at the expense of others.
The webpage exposes the CCP in six major chunks: predatory economic policies, military expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, covert destruction of global norms and values, bullying tactics overseas, disregard for human rights, and ecological destruction.
It is unclear why the Biden administration took down the State Department website for six policy issues, including the Chinese Communist threat.
Biden signed dozens of executive orders within days of taking office, overturning many Trump administration executive orders, including banning the federal government from saying “China virus” and delaying the ban on investment in Chinese military companies.
In the face of frequent harassment of Taiwan by Chinese military aircraft and military exercises in the South China Sea, the Biden administration has not only failed to counterattack, but has instead declared that it will adopt “strategic patience. Meanwhile, Blinken called Tsai Ing-wen “Taiwan’s elected representative” and stressed to the New York Times that support for Taiwan should be prudent.
Republican Senator Jim Risch tweeted that the ruling Chinese Communist Party is testing the Biden administration’s resolve to continue to take tougher, more competitive measures against the Communist Party.
Senior Republican Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Ariz.), vice chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also tweeted that the Biden administration must make clear immediately that it will not tolerate the CCP’s coercive behavior.
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