US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln said, “The United States has a strong competitive relationship with China,” but “President Joe Biden has a strong determination to ensure that competition with China does not escalate into a conflict.”
Secretary Blincoln appeared on the US CBS broadcast that day and said this in response to a question about what Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on the 2nd to the effect that the possibility of a war between the US and China cannot be ruled out.
Minister Blincoln continued, “The world expects us to manage our relationship with China responsibly.” “I think war is potentially possible because Chinese President Xi Jinping has complete control over China,” Sherman said at an event at American University. “We are working to block it. At the same time, we are supporting Taiwan to have the means to defend itself,” Reuters reported.
In a CNN broadcast interview that day, Secretary Blincoln was asked if he would take a more moderate approach to China’s protests compared to US support for Iran’s anti-government protests. “If any country tries to suppress peaceful protest in any way, we are speaking out against it,” he said.
When asked what he would say to President Xi about protests in China when he visits China early next year in terms of follow-up discussions at the US-China summit held at the G20 summit last month, he said, “President Biden mentioned to President Xi. “President Biden said that human rights and basic civil liberties are fundamental to the United States, and that no US president has been silent on this issue,” he recalled.
“We want to make sure that there are no misunderstandings with China,” he said.
On the other hand, Minister Blincoln said on the CBS broadcast that the Iranian government decided to abolish the police’s guidance patrol due to the spread of protests, saying, “We have to see how it actually goes in the enforcement process.”
“If the Iranian government responded to the protests, it might be positive, but it depends on what the Iranian people think about it,” he said.