National

Axios World

National security adviser Jake Sullivan held a "productive" 4.5-hour meeting with top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in Luxembourg on Monday, a senior administration official told reporters. 

State of play: The meeting, which was not announced in advance, came just three days after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met his Chinese counterpart Gen. Wei Fenghe at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. 

While at that conference, Austin accused Beijing of "destabilizing military activity near Taiwan," while Wei said China would fight against Taiwanese independence "at all costs" and accused the U.S. of "smearing and containing China."

What they're saying: A senior U.S. official briefing reporters on the Sullivan-Yang meeting said it was "productive" and part of the administration's efforts at "managing the competitive dynamic" with Beijing and "reducing risks" by communicating its intentions and priorities.

On Ukraine, Sullivan warned China against "certain kinds of assistance to Russia."

On North Korea, Sullivan objected to Beijing's veto of a UN Security Council resolution to sanction Pyongyang for its nuclear program and missile tests.

On Taiwan, Sullivan raised concerns about "Beijing's coercive and aggressive actions across the Taiwan Strait," the official said.

In its own readout of the meeting, Beijing said it opposed efforts to "smear China's stance" on the war in Ukraine, and said that while the Biden administration has vowed to adhere to the One China Policy vis-a-vis Taiwan, its "deeds are obviously inconsistent with its words."

"China and the US should strengthen dialogue and cooperation, properly manage differences, and avoid conflicts and confrontations," Beijing's readout said.

Worth noting: The U.S. official declined to comment on whether President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a meeting or call in the near future.

Jake Sullivan holds "productive" 4.5-hour meeting with China's top diplomat

The long meeting in Luxembourg was aimed at "reducing risks" in the "competitive" relationship, the White House said.

Sullivan (R) and Yang during a previous meeting in Rome in March, 2022. Photo: Jin Mamengni/Xinhua via Getty

China

China is becoming the most formidable rival America has faced, and the risk of confrontation with Russia, North Korea or Iran still looms. Authoritarians are rising, the chaotic Afghanistan exit revealed the limits of U.S. power, and the pandemic, climate change and other critical challenges continue to pose grave threats.

World

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reiterated the U.S.' support for Taiwan at a defense summit in Asia on Saturday, warning of a recent "steady increase" of Chinese military activity near the self-governing island country.

Why it matters: Austin's speech comes after China's defense minister Wei Fenghe told Austin on the sidelines of the summit that an independent Taiwan would leave the Chinese military with no choice but to "fight at any cost," according to the BBC.

A spokesperson quoted Wei as saying, "If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) will have no choice but fight at any cost and crush any attempt of 'Taiwan independence' and safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

He also condemned U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan. 

What they're saying: "We're determined to uphold the status quo that has served this region so well for so long," Austin said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday.

"So let me be clear: We remain firmly committed to our longstanding one-China policy — guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances," he said. 

"We categorically oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. We do not support Taiwan independence. And we stand firmly behind the principle that cross-strait differences must be resolved by peaceful means."

"We're seeing growing coercion from Beijing. We've witnessed a steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan. We remain focused on maintaining peace, stability and the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. But China's moves threaten to undermine security and stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific."

"We seek a region free of aggression and bullying. And we seek a world that respects territorial integrity and political independence."

The big picture: Current U.S. policy acknowledges Beijing considers Taipei part of "one China," but opposes any attempts to change Taiwan's democratic status by military force.

However, President Biden last month angered China's government during his first trip to Japan by saying American troops would defend Taiwan if Chinese forces attacked the country.

Go deeper: Pacific nations wary of China's security proposal

Defense Secretary Austin condemns China's military activity near Taiwan

"China's moves threaten to undermine security, and stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific," Austin said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaking in Singapore in June 2022.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks in Singapore on June 11. Photo: Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

Axios Sneak Peek

Enes Kanter Freedom told conservative House members at a lunch Wednesday at the Capitol that "Wall Street, think tanks, academia, Hollywood, the sports ... all of them is pretty much run by the Chinese government in some form."

"The more pressure you put on them, the more we hold them accountable," said the free agent and former center for the Boston Celtics.

Driving the news: The Muslim athlete, an outspoken critic of China's abuse of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang — and of the NBA's relations with China — flew in from Canada to attend the Republican Study Committee lunch at the behest of the group's chair, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) 

An Axios reporter was exclusively invited to observe the gathering.

Why it matters: Banks hopes Kanter Freedom's celebrity will boost support for legislation for new sanctions against U.S. entities doing business with companies that indirectly use Uyghurs for forced labor.

American companies already are prohibited from working with companies that use Uyghur labor, while Banks' bill addresses a loophole.

The alliance also may boost Banks' and the RSC's hardline reputation on China policy. Banks has his eye on a future role in leadership and sees this issue as being a key driver for the GOP in the midterm elections.

Reality check: Both President Biden and former President Trump labeled China's campaign of mass internment, forced labor and forced sterilization of Uyghurs as genocide. 

What they're saying: Banks told Kanter Freedom he was "the inspiration" for his bill and urged RSC members to sign on as cosponsors.

One RSC member, looking ahead to November elections in which Republicans are widely expected to retake the House majority, asked Kanter Freedom, "What else can we do?" 

Banks told Axios that taking a more critical approach to China is a central bridge between the RSC and a "more populist" Trump agenda. "This is what makes the conservative movement and the Republican Party different today than what it was five years ago," he said.

"As we set the stage and plant the flag for where Republicans go, we get the majority back, countering Communist China is one of our very top priorities."

How we got here: Kanter Freedom, 30, born in Switzerland to Turkish parents and raised in Turkey, has sharply criticized the NBA, Nike and other U.S. companies for continuing activities in China. He had "Freedom" legally added to his surname.

He was traded by the Boston Celtics and cut by the Houston Rockets earlier this year.

During Wednesday's lunch, as GOP members munched on Chick-fil-A and Dunkin' Donuts coffee, Kanter Freedom detailed how he became involved as an activist — which he said he believes ultimately cost him his contract with the NBA.

He said his mangers warned him: "You have shoe deals. You have endorsement deals. If you want to get another contract, we cannot attack Nike. We cannot talk about China. Then you also will be kicked out of the league."

"They said enjoy this year, enjoy your last year."

What's next: Kanter Freedom told Axios he will return to the Capitol on June 23 to kick off his new Freedom Foundation.

Go deeper: Soccer stars speak out on China's Uyghurs — and pay a price

Inside the GOP lunch with NBA free agent Enes Kanter Freedom

House members in the Republican Study Committee invited the former NBA player to lunch.

Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom and Republican Study Committee chairman, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.). Photo courtesy of the RSC.

Uyghur

Shifts in technology and media are changing the way we play, watch and understand sports. Business models are adapting and social change is forcing those in charge of teams and leagues to reconsider decades-old practices.

Sports

President Biden is facing public pressure from America's leading unions on an issue that has divided his top advisers: extending former President Trump's China tariffs on approximately $300 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Why it matters: The Biden administration is engaged in an intense internal debate on whether to waive some of the so-called Section 301 tariffs to help ease inflation — the top issue roiling Biden's presidency.

By filing an official comment with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Monday evening, union leaders are going public with what they've been saying in private: they expect Biden to keep all of Trump's tariffs in place.

"Our government must act in the national interest to strengthen our economy for the future," writes Thomas Conway, the president of the United Steel Workers, in a comment filed on behalf of the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy.

Context: Biden, who prizes his relationship with organized labor, has taken pains not to aggravate union leaders and is deeply hesitant to cross them. 

But fiddling with Trump's tariffs is one of the few dials the president has that can marginally affect the inflation rate, which currently sits at 8.3% and is clearly spooking Democrats heading into the midterms. 

Driving the news: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Sunday that it "may make sense" to lift some of Trump's China tariffs and mentioned specific products — like bicycles — that could be exempted. 

"I know the president is looking at that," she said on CNN's "State of the Union."

Raimondo is joined by other Biden officials, like Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in arguing behind the scenes that removing some tariffs could ease the pain for Americans fed up with high prices. 

On the other side are officials like U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who argues that the U.S. should take a more strategic approach to the tariffs — both to protect American workers and to maintain leverage over China.

Fighting inflation should not be reduced to a "singular focus" on China tariffs, Tai said Monday, making her case for a "thoughtful, deliberate, strategic" approach to the U.S.-China trade relationship.

The big picture: With record-high gas prices reminding Americans every day that inflation is soaring, the White House is looking for ways to show voters it is serious about bringing down costs. 

Politically, there's no debate that it's taking a toll — just 28% of Americans approve of Biden's handling of inflation, according to a recent survey from ABC News/Ipsos.

Biden has repeatedly said in recent weeks that fighting inflation is his "top priority," but officials know they have limited tools to bring it down quickly. 

Top officials suspect that removing Trump's tariffs would have only a marginal effect on the overall inflation rate, about 0.26%, according to one study.

Biden has released oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to lower gas prices and is soon planning to visit Saudi Arabia, which just announced plans to increase its oil production.

Some Democrats are clinging to hopes that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) might agree to a climate and energy package that would also force the pharmaceutical industry to negotiate directly with Medicare, lowering prices for consumers. 

Between the lines: The Labor Advisory Committee wants to bolster domestic production and manufacturing but also needs America's business community to take potential threats from the Chinese Communist Party more seriously. 

"Too many U.S. companies have failed to take needed actions to address the threat posed by CCP policies," Conway writes in the official comment.

"Many continue to outsource production and research and development, undermining U.S. competitiveness and national security interests."

The bottom line: White House officials — and Biden himself — are always careful to emphasize that fighting inflation is primarily the responsibility of the Federal Reserve.

Scoop: Labor unions warn Biden not to lift China tariffs

The issue has divided Biden's top advisers.

Photo illustration of Joe Biden holding a Chinese flag. 

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Trump tariffs

Trade war

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Axios China

A network of Twitter accounts previously linked to the Chinese government is targeting female journalists of Chinese heritage who work for western news outlets in a campaign of online harassment, according to a new report.

Why it matters: The campaign appears to be part of the Chinese government's efforts to silence criticism of Beijing abroad through coercion, intimidation, and retaliation.

In the past few years, and with growing assertiveness since 2019, the Chinese government has taken to Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and other western social media platforms that are banned in China to promote state propaganda and to engage in increasingly sophisticated disinformation and harassment campaigns. 

What's happening: In recent weeks, the Twitter accounts of the New Yorker's Jiayang Fan, the Economist's Alice Su, the New York Times' Muyi Xiao, and other journalists and China analysts — mostly female, mostly of ethnic Chinese heritage and largely based outside of China — have been flooded with thousands of tweets criticizing them as traitors and accusing them of "smearing" China.

The harassment campaign is connected to the Chinese state-linked "Spamouflage" network, according to analysis performed by researchers Danielle Cave and Albert Zhang at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and reviewed by Axios. 

ASPI is an independent non-partisan think tank in Australia that has published numerous high-profile reports about China that have attracted the ire of the Chinese government. 

The network popularly known as Spamouflage was first identified in 2019. Twitter has previously attributed the Spamouflage network to Chinese state-linked actors. Spamouflage-linked activity has occurred on a range of topics including the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, Xinjiang, Taiwan, and COVID. Twitter has previously shared relevant data about Chinese state-backed campaigns with ASPI.

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed to Axios that the activity identified in ASPI's report was part of the "Spamouflage" network, and that Twitter had suspended more than 400 linked accounts for violation of platform policies. The spokesperson said the investigation was ongoing.

What they're saying: "To accuse the Chinese government of using Twitter accounts to target dissidents is totally groundless and malicious speculation," Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Axios in a statement. 

"The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) you mentioned has been making a living by churning out all kinds of disinformation about China. It has long been notorious in China and a laughing stock in the international community."

Details: Many posts include generic and similar-sounding criticism, such as that the journalists are "reverse racist" or they are a "dog" for "betraying China." But other posts, particularly those targeting Fan in the hashtag #TraitorJiayangFan, were tailored to very personal details in the journalists' lives, resulting in what ASPI described as "psychological abuse."

The accounts display numerous characteristics of a bot network. Many have generic names with handles that often include a long string of numbers. Most accounts use photos of real women taken from other websites, or AI-generated images of women and children, the researchers found.

Hundreds of recently created accounts were dedicated exclusively to tweeting attacks of one or more of the women, while others had previously posted other Chinese state propaganda, including denial of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and conspiracy theories about the origins of COVID.

ASPI says it believes the network is state backed because of other indicators, as well, including "posting content denying human rights abuses in Xinjiang, amplifying hashtags that ASPI has assessed to be other iterations of Spamouflage, using profile images similar to previous Spamouflage-linked accounts and other patterns of life."

By the numbers: The researchers identified at least 367 inauthentic accounts that have used the hashtag #TraitorJiayangFan since April 19.

In one 24-hour period on May 30, more than 100 accounts in the network posted more than 500 tweets directed at Xiao, the New York Times visual journalist. Some of these accounts were removed after she reported them, Xiao wrote in a May 31 tweet.

Most of the tweets were posted during business hours in China's time zone, with activity dropping off on recent holidays in China, according to ASPI's analysis.

"This activity is escalating," the ASPI researchers write. Recent evidence points to "an actor that is broadening its scope and targets, constantly adding to its information toolkit and evolving far more quickly than just a year, or two, ago."

A Twitter spokesperson told Axios they've made progress in keeping journalists safe on the platform but "recognize the work we still need to do in order to minimize the disproportionate levels of abuse that women and underrepresented communities face online."

The U.S. State Department declined to comment.

The big picture: In recent years, the Chinese government has engaged in increasingly aggressive forms of transnational repression, meaning the extension of authoritarian government power beyond its borders.

The ASPI report refers to the Twitter campaign against journalists as an example of "digital transnational repression."

Chinese authorities have successfully pressured governments from Thailand to Tajikistan to Egypt to forcibly repatriate Uyghurs who have fled oppression in Xinjiang. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has recently issued several indictments against Chinese security officials for schemes to harass U.S.-based dissidents. 

Disclosure: Bethany is an unpaid member of ASPI's Xinjiang Data Project advisory council, a group of experts that provides feedback to ASPI on that project. The report in this article is not part of that project and Bethany played no role in conceptualizing or drafting it.

Report: China-linked Twitter harassment targets female Asian journalists outside China

The campaign appears to be part of Chinese government efforts to silence criticism of Beijing abroad.

Illustration of a large hand cursor icon pointing down toward a small person

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

At a summit in Fiji last week, Beijing proposed a sweeping security and economic agreement for 10 Pacific island nations. None signed it.

The big picture: The countries don't want their region to become the locus of a superpower showdown. But some may still choose to deepen partnerships with Beijing in the future. 

The proposal comes as Australia sounds the alarm about China's encroachment in its neighborhood.

What's happening: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi laid out an extensive deal, including trade, cybersecurity, data networks and law enforcement to leaders from the 10 countries gathered at the meeting, including Tonga, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands.

Last month, the Solomon Islands signed a five-year security agreement with China. The agreement could see Chinese military vessels docking and refueling at ports there.

Last week, Wang and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare celebrated what they called "iron-clad" ties between the two countries.

But none of the countries signed up for the sweeping new proposal.

"Geopolitical point-scoring means less than little to anyone whose community is slipping beneath the rising seas, whose job is being lost to the pandemic, or whose family is impacted by the rapid rise in the price of commodities," Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said after the summit concluded.

Micronesia's President David Panuelo warned that signing the agreement could result in a regional Cold War between the U.S. and China.

The U.S. also urged caution. "We don't believe that importing security forces from the PRC and their methods will help any Pacific Island country," U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told Reuters.

What to watch: A sweeping regional agreement may not be in the offing, but smaller bilateral deals may be.

Samoa inked an economic and technical cooperation agreement with Beijing over the weekend, and other countries may follow.

Go deeper: Solomon Islands becomes unlikely epicenter of U.S.-China competition

Pacific nations wary of China's security proposal

Beijing proposed a sweeping security and economic agreement for 10 Pacific island nations. None signed it.

Genocide scholars and rights advocates are calling for the resignation of a top United Nations human rights official after her visit to Xinjiang ended with her repeating, rather than denouncing, Chinese government propaganda about an ongoing genocide there. 

Why it matters: The visit illustrates how the UN is caught between China and the West, and it suggests Beijing increasingly holds sway over the organization.

"Beijing has already spun this trip as a huge success and an affirmation of their policies. It's bringing the entire UN into disrepute," said Azeem Ibrahim, a director at the D.C.-based Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy, which recently published a report about the genocide in Xinjiang.

What's happening: Over the weekend, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet completed a trip to China that included a visit to the northwest region of Xinjiang, where the Chinese government has detained more than 1 million Uyghurs and other minority ethnic groups as part of an ongoing genocide.

It was the first visit of a top UN human rights official to China since 2005. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights first requested this visit in 2018 as reports of mass detentions in Xinjiang emerged.

Extensive evidence from satellite imagery, Chinese government documents, and survivor testimonies indicates Chinese authorities have used mass detentions, forced sterilization, forced labor, mass incarceration, family separation, torture, surveillance, political indoctrination, and bans on religious and cultural practice to stamp out Uyghur identity.

But at a May 28 press conference in Beijing, Bachelet used Chinese government talking points to frame her remarks on Xinjiang, casting the policies there as a form of "counter terrorism" intended to combat "violent acts of extremism." She also referred to mass detention facilities as "vocational and educational training centers," the government's euphemism for the camps. 

She did not denounce the genocide or demand that the Chinese government end its repression of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in the region.

She also praised the Chinese government's achievements in poverty alleviation and health care in other parts of the country.

Bachelet mentioned she had spoken with Uyghurs outside China who had "lost contact" with their detained relatives; the commissioner urged Chinese authorities to provide "information" to the relatives of detainees but did not call for their release.

China's propaganda apparatus hailed the visit as a global stamp of approval on its Xinjiang policies.

Chinese state media ran photos of Bachelet bumping elbows with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and touted her visit as "an opportunity to observe and experience first-hand the real Xinjiang." 

Bachelet's visit "[n]ot only vindicated, but justified" China's human rights model, Zha Liyou, consul general at the Chinese consulate in Kolkata, posted on May 30.

Bachelet's office did not respond to a request for comment.

What they're saying: Human rights advocates and Uyghur activists were stunned and swiftly condemned Bachelet's actions.

"If the one institution that was supposed to stand by us ended up aiding the Chinese government’s own narrative, what more could we do to change the victims’ lives?" said Rayhan Asat, a human rights lawyer and Yale law fellow whose brother is detained in Xinjiang, calling this the "ultimate betrayal."

The institution of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is now "badly compromised," said Frederick John Packer, a professor of law at the University of Ottawa who served on the drafting committee secretariat at the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, where the plan to establish the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights was created. Packer said he was "still in shock" at how the visit had turned out.

"The world cannot afford this," he said. "She must resign along with those who advised this awful course."

The Campaign for Uyghurs, a D.C.-based advocacy group, also demanded Bachelet's resignation.

"Bachelet neglects the duties of her office, her mandate to the world to stand up for human rights, and the UN’s founding principles," the group said in a statement.

Background: Before the trip, government officials and rights advocates around the world warned that Chinese authorities would heavily orchestrate the visit and deny Bachelet and her team the access needed to conduct their investigation.

Chinese authorities said Bachelet and her team would only have contact with a limited number of carefully selected people to help guard against COVID infections.

On May 20, a group of 40 legislators from 18 countries, including the U.S., Germany, France, Lithuania, New Zealand and Japan, warned that Chinese authorities planned a "Potemkin-style tour" and criticized Bachelet for going through with the visit without securing promises of unrestricted access.

"The UN should never undertake any of these trips unless it is under conditions that they specify, and not conditions that are dictated to them," Ibrahim said. 

What to watch: Back in December, Bachelet's office promised to soon release a report on conditions in Xinjiang. That report has yet to be released.

Advocates denounce UN official's China visit as "ultimate betrayal"

A top UN human rights official repeated Beijing's Xinjiang propaganda

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in Guangzhou

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in Guangzhou on May 23. Photo: Deng Hua/Xinhua via Getty Images

A U.S. delegation led by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is in Taipei, meeting with Taiwan officials on a previously unannounced visit.

Driving the news: Duckworth, who also visited Taiwan's capital last year as part of a COVID-19 vaccine doses donation announcement, arrived in Taipei for the three-day visit on Monday, per a Taiwan Foreign Ministry tweet.

Of note: Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense reported Monday that Beijing sent 30 Chinese warplanes to its air defense identification zone (ADIZ) near the island — the biggest incursion since January.

What's happening: The U.S. delegation met with Taiwan Foreign Affairs Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu on Tuesday.

They're scheduled to hold talks with President Tsai Ing-wen later in the day as well as Premier Su Tseng-chang and Economic Affairs Minister Wang Mei-hua before their departure Wednesday, per CNN.

The big picture: The delegation's trip follows President Biden's first visit to Japan earlier this month during which he angered China's government by saying American troops would defend Taiwan if Chinese forces attacked the self-governing island.

Current U.S. policy acknowledges Beijing considers Taipei part of "one China," but opposes any attempts to change Taiwan's democratic status by force.

Flashback: The governments of China and Russia sent jets over the seas near Japan during Biden's visit and U.S. and Japanese forces held a joint fighter jet exercise soon after.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of the Chinese warplanes and with further context. 

Beijing sends 30 warplanes near Taiwan as U.S. delegation visits

The visit follows President Biden's remarks that U.S. troops would defend Taiwan if Chinese forces attacked.

 Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) speaks during a news conference following the weekly Democrat policy luncheon on Capitol Hill on April 20, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth leads a U.S. congressional delegation visiting Taiwan. Photo: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

Taiwan

Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned in a speech Thursday that despite the current focus on Russia and the war in Ukraine, China poses the "most serious, long-term challenge" to the international order. 

What he's saying: “China is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order — and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to do it,” Blinken said. The U.S., however, is "not looking for conflict or a new Cold War." 

“Beijing’s vision would move us away from the universal values that have sustained so much of the world’s progress over the past 75 years," Blinken said.

"Under President Xi, the ruling Chinese Communist Party has become more repressive at home and more aggressive abroad."

“We cannot rely on Beijing to change its trajectory. So we will shape the strategic environment around Beijing to advance our vision for an open and inclusive international system.”

The big picture: Blinken laid out the U.S. approach to China, including investing in domestic infrastructure, education and worker training, and research and innovation.

The Biden administration has sought to reengage with U.S. allies and partners, as well as international organizations, as it tries to "advance a shared vision for the future," Blinken said.

The secretary of state pointed to U.S. cooperation with G7 partners, and rejoining of the World Health Organization and UN Human Rights Council, as indicative of this approach.

Blinken also spoke of the asymmetrical access that Chinese companies have to the U.S., saying "this lack of reciprocity is unacceptable and it's unsustainable." Instead, the U.S. will "push back on market-distorting policies and practices" to even the playing field and ensure fair competition.

"We're sharpening our tools to safeguard our technological competitiveness," including new and stronger export controls, increased protections for academic research and improved cyber defenses, Blinken said. 

Worth noting: Days after President Biden seemingly diverged from the U.S. policy of "strategic ambiguity” regarding Taiwan, Blinken stressed that U.S. policy "has not changed." 

Blinken also slammed China's record on human rights, referring to the genocide and crimes against humanity being carried out against Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang, the mistreatment of Tibetans, and the use of "anti-democratic measures" in Hong Kong.

"Beijing insists that these are somehow internal matters that others have no right to raise. That is wrong," he said.

In a repudiation of anti-Asian hate in the U.S., Blinken firmly stated that differences with China are between "governments and systems" and that Chinese nationals in the U.S., Chinese Americans and other Asian Americans have claims to the U.S. that are "equal to anyone else's."

"Mistreating someone of Chinese descent goes against everything we stand for as a country."

What to watch: Blinken expressed support for the creation of a China House at the State Department to "coordinate and implement our policy across issues and regions."

Our thought bubble via Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian: The speech makes clear that the Biden administration’s China strategy will continue to echo many of the same points as the Trump administration.

During his seminal speech on U.S. policy toward China in 2018, then-Vice President Mike Pence defined the U.S.-China relationship as one driven by competition and confrontation.

Pence accused China of using its military, spies, economic power and propaganda prowess to undermine the U.S. around the world and influence its domestic politics.

Blinken: China poses "most serious, long-term challenge" to world order

China is the "only country" with the both the intent and ability to reshape the international order, Blinken said.

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