Blinken Notes Need To Approach China From Position Of Strength

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th March, 2021) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that although China should be approached from the position of strength amid growing threats, it could not be labeled as Washington's main adversary.

"I wouldn't simplify it to one label. There are clearly increasingly adversarial aspects to the relationship, there are certainly competitive ones, there are also still some cooperative ones. But the common denominator is the need to approach China from the position of strength � whether it's adversarial, whether it's competitive, whether it's cooperative," Blinken told CNN when asked if he considered China the US' biggest adversary.

The secretary of state added that the United States should join forces with its EU and NATO allies to be able to handle what they call "increasingly assertive" China.

"It's about making sure that, as we engage China, one of our biggest sources of strength are alliances, are partnerships, when we approach the challenges that China poses, together we gonna be much more effective in dealing with them," he noted.

Earlier in March, Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held a meeting with Chinese Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi and State Councilor Wang Yi in Alaska. The first session ended with harsh criticism toward each side. The US officials criticized China for Hong Kong events and the alleged genocide against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, while their Chinese counterparts responded by criticizing the United States for hypocrisy, including human rights abuses of African Americans.

Eventually, the sides agreed to push forward high-level dialogue between the two countries and avoid confrontation.