US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a tough speech against China this Thursday (26), in which he accused the Asian country of acting aggressively and unfairly in relations with other countries and expanding internal repression.
“Under President Xi [Jinping], the Chinese Communist Party has become more repressive at home and more aggressive abroad. We see that Beijing has perfected mass surveillance and exported this technology to more than 80 countries,” Blinken said in a speech at George Washington University in the US capital.
The speech was about US policy towards China. The head of US diplomacy said US strategy focuses on three points: investing in strengthening the US so it can better compete with its Asian rival, seeking more partnerships with other countries, especially in Asia, and preventing China from taking advantage. breaches of US and international rules.
Blinken began his 45-minute speech with praise for China’s ability to grow and the possibilities for cooperation between the two countries. He also said that the United States does not want conflict and seeks to maintain peace with Beijing, but then he launched into a series of criticisms, such as that Chinese action abroad jeopardizes the system of global rules created after the Second World War, which includes institutions like the UN.
“[A China] stands as a defender of sovereignty and territorial integrity while standing alongside governments that violate them. Even when Russia was clearly mobilizing to invade Ukraine, Presidents Xi and [Vladimir] Putin declared their friendship ‘without limits’,” he continued.
Still in the external field, he said that China uses its economic power to pressure other countries to align with it, and cited the case of Australia, which was the target of new trade tariffs and barriers to Chinese tourism after the country defended more investigations. about the origin of Covid-19.
Talking about internal repression, Blinken accused China of holding more than 1 million people in detention camps in Xinjiang, where there is a majority Muslim population, of campaigning brutally against Tibet and of imposing undemocratic measures in Hong Kong. “Beijing insists that these are internal issues, which others have no right to mention. This is wrong. These actions go against the UN Charter and the International Declaration of Human Rights,” he said.
Regarding Taiwan, Blinken said that the ambiguous position of the US remains the same: to defend the concept of one China, while helping Taiwan to strengthen its military defense and the international role of the island’s government. “We oppose any unilateral change to the status quo and do not support Taiwan’s independence,” she said.
On Monday (23), during a trip to Asia, Biden said that the United States would use force to defend Taiwan if the island were invaded by China. Shortly after, the White House sought to minimize the statement and reinforce that the American position on the issue remained unchanged.
In the economic area, the secretary made several attacks on the commercial actions of the rival. He accused the country of unfair competition, for practices such as state subsidies to companies and disrespect for labor rights. He gave the example of steel, where Chinese manufacturers would sell the material at low prices because they are not obligated to make a profit. As a result, they would have dominated the market and broken up industries in the sector in several countries.
Blinken also said that China takes advantage of the western opening to spy and steal technical knowledge. “US companies operating in China have been subject to mandatory technology transfers, while Chinese companies in America have been protected by law. Chinese films can be freely sold in America, without any censorship. But Beijing strictly limits the number of foreign films in the country.” Chinese market, and those that are allowed are subject to heavy censorship. This lack of reciprocity is unacceptable and unsustainable,” he said.
In response, Blinken said the US would continue to seek to tackle measures such as subsidies and trade barriers, but did not announce new measures such as extra tariffs. “We are sharpening our tools, which include new and stronger controls on exports, to ensure that important innovations don’t end up in the wrong hands,” he said. The production of electric car batteries and solar energy panels were cited as critical areas of competition.
