(Washington) China represents the greatest challenge in the history of the United States, even more so than the Cold War, the number two in American diplomacy said on Wednesday, calling on Europe to be more severe with Beijing.
Kurt Campbell, deputy to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a longtime architect of the U.S. foreign policy shift toward Asia, also called for more investment in cutting-edge technology in the face of Chinese advances.
“It is established that this is the greatest challenge in our history,” the senior diplomat told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“Frankly, the Cold War pales in comparison to the multifaceted challenge that China poses,” he told lawmakers.
PHOTO ELIZABETH FRANTZ, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Kurt Campbell, deputy to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a longtime architect of the shift in U.S. foreign policy toward Asia
It’s not just a military issue, it’s across the board. It’s in the Global South, it’s about technology. We need to increase our efforts across the board.
Kurt Campbell, deputy to Secretary of State Antony Blinken
These statements come at the end of a Joe Biden mandate which has allowed an easing of differences between Washington and Beijing, while the former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump has taken a more offensive approach.
While communication between their militaries has improved since a meeting between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping last year, as has their cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking, the United States has also condemned China’s contribution to the Russian war effort.
But on sanctions against Chinese companies, “we need more support,” Campbell said – an issue he has raised on trips to Europe.
“For many of these countries, doing business with China has been very important” for the past 20 years, he explained, highlighting the difficulty for European countries to cut ties with a second major country after having already ceased business with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.