US Secretary Antony Blinken said today that he does not see a short or medium-term solution to tensions with China, advocating that Washington should maintain its leadership and prevent another power from occupying that void.
Speaking at a lecture organized by the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, the head of US diplomacy expressed his pessimism in resolving bilateral problems between Washington and Beijing in the near future.
“I don’t think we will reach a clear goal in the short term, even during the lifetime of most of those present in this room”, said Blinken, before stressing that the issue is centered on finding a “more productive coexistence” between the two political powers and economical.
For the American leader, it is necessary to “find a way to coexist and do it peacefully”, while “intense competition” takes place, underlining the importance of creating lines of communication with Beijing, where Blinken traveled two weeks ago.
Blinken predicted that this long-term competition will determine the post-Cold War era, where the United States wants to approach it from a position of strength with the aim of “having the ability to shape what is to come.”
In summary, he argued that the United States is facing a China that has “the power and intention to change the system in which we live” and a “revanchist” Russia, so Washington must act with determination and leadership to continue to be the greatest power in the world.
“If the United States does not compromise or relinquish its leadership, then either there is someone who does and probably not in a way that promotes our own interests and values, or there is no one and then we will have a void. which will probably be full of bad things”, he stressed.
A week ago, the President of the United States said that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, belongs to the category of dictators, at a reception in California with Democratic Party donors and in the presence of journalists, which prompted a formal protest from Beijing.
Referring to a recent episode in which the United States destroyed a Chinese balloon that they claimed was spying on US territory, Joe Biden said that “the reason why [the Chinese President] was so upset” when “that balloon was shot down full of spy equipment is because I didn’t know [the device] was there.”
“It’s very embarrassing for dictators when they don’t know what happened,” Biden continued, adding: “When [the balloon] was shot down he was very embarrassed and even denied that [the device] was there.”
Later, Biden said that his statements did not undermine progress in bilateral relations and that he hopes to meet with the Chinese leader in the near future: “This is not something I will change much.”
*With Lusa
