Blinken describes China as 'biggest geopolitical test' for US, vows strength
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says China is the main overseas focus of President Joe Biden's administration, calling the Asian superpower "the biggest geopolitical test" of the century for Washington.
Blinken said Wednesday that Washington’s relations with Beijing “will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be, and adversarial when it must be,” adding that the United States is "ready to confront China wherever necessary."
“We will fight for every American job and for the rights, protections and interests of all American workers,” he said in a speech at the State Department.
A 24-page national security document, described China as “the only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system.”
In the face of “challenges from China and Russia,” the document said, the US military would shift its emphasis away from “unneeded legacy platforms and weapons systems to free up resources for investments” in cutting-edge technologies.
Blinken also echoed remarks made by his predecessor, Mike Pompeo, who accused China of mistreating the ethnic minority of Uighurs, who make up about 45 percent of the population in the Chinese region of Xinjiang.
Blinken said that Washington “requires standing up for our values when human rights are abused in Xinjiang.”
China has vehemently rejected the allegations, saying it has in fact been taking anti-terrorism measures against separatists seeking to join Takfiri outfits such as al-Qaeda.
Regarding Hong Kong affairs, Blinken took Pompeo’s stance, saying that “democracy is trampled in Hong Kong.”
Hong Kong has been governed under the “one-country, two-system” model since the city, a former British colony, was returned to China in 1997.
Some opposition lawmakers openly called for Western intervention in the city and propagated in favor of secession from mainland China.
The United States actively supported Hong Kong’s protest leaders and attempted to stir anti-China sentiments in the city.
On Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called the US the “biggest threat” to his country’s development and security, saying that, “The biggest source of chaos in the present-day world is the United States.”
“The East is growing and the West is declining,” the Chinese president noted.
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