Because it is not wise to face two opponents together
The United States must choose between China and Russia
Blinken revealed the outlines of the official position of the administration of President Joe Biden on China.
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Russia launched a brutal invasion of Ukraine and hinted at the possible use of nuclear weapons
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During a speech last week, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken unveiled the long-awaited outline of the Joe Biden administration's official position on China.
Blinken said that it is China that presents the most powerful threat to the global order backed by the United States, not Russia under President Vladimir Putin.
Blinken went on to say, "Only China has the intent to redraw the world order," and it has the power to do so.
The United States will seek to rally a coalition of other countries in the face of China's challenges.
Pledge
A few days ago, President Biden vowed to defend the island of Taiwan if China tried to seize the island ruled by a democratic system.
He met with regional allies, and his administration proposed a new plan to counter China's growing economic influence in Asia.
But the growing focus on China's ability to disrupt the global order is shrinking the space for cooperation with Beijing and diverting attention from the real threat in the world, which is Russia.
Russia's wars
Under President Putin, Russia destroyed Grozny, the capital of Chechnya in 2000, invaded Georgia in 2008, annexed Crimea in 2014, and used its international forces in 2015 and 2016 to destroy Syrian opposition forces. Russia used cyber attacks, assassinated and tortured local opponents, and issued Laws impose horrific prison sentences against anyone who criticizes the state.
Russia launched a brutal invasion of Ukraine, and hinted at the possibility of using nuclear weapons.
Putin not only announced his intention to redraw international borders and revive the specter of the former Soviet Union, but worked to achieve this.
It must be said that thwarting further Russian bad behavior by imposing a trade embargo and stopping the resupply of arms to the country's army requires international cooperation against Putin, and this includes China as well.
China potential opponent
And of course we have to be clear about China as well.
Undoubtedly, it is a potential opponent more powerful than Russia by all measures, militarily, economically, and ideologically.
The Chinese Communist Party, under President Xi Jinping, oversees a form of state-controlled capitalism that harms foreign companies in the Chinese market.
China spends more money on developing its military than any other country after the United States, as it intends to counter American military supremacy in East Asia.
The rise of nationalism in China is expressed in the belief that Taiwan must be reunified with mother China, and that the South China Sea is a Chinese lake.
China is not necessarily a threat
But all these issues do not necessarily make China a threat to American prosperity and security, unless we believe every hostile word that comes from Chinese officials, every military plan devised by the Chinese army and the inevitable “Thucydides trap,” that the rising powers tend toward conflict with the existing great powers.
This does not mean that any country that does not adhere to democratic norms is a danger to the United States.
The United States did not base its entire foreign policy on human rights issues, nor should it be, because that is a recipe for interventions in the affairs of other countries and endless global conflicts.
Muscle show
The Communist Party views the United States as an adversary, but has been willing to engage with it diplomatically, and has repeatedly defended the sanctity of the Chinese state's borders.
His rhetoric on Taiwan was just a flexing of muscle, and he seemed disciplined in comparison to how the United States has dealt with South American countries historically.
Advocates of a new Cold War with China will surely turn a blind eye to such assertions.
They will say that China has reneged on trade commitments, repeatedly violated climate agreements, used espionage to steal intellectual property, and is building a powerful military to the detriment of the United States and its allies.
But it makes sense for a rising superpower like China to draw up plans for its own defense, including a possible conflict with the United States.
It is worth noting that China is deeply intertwined with the US and international economy.
Its debts on the United States amount to about one trillion dollars in the form of US Treasuries.
It benefits from the cumulative effect of US investment, and it also needs access to foreign markets.
All these facts determine China's behavior, and to the same extent the possibility of a confrontation between it and the United States.
On the contrary, Russia is disciplined only by Putin's orders and desires.
New ways to deal with China
Rather than making China our next great enemy, American security will be better when recognizing that Russia's behavior highlights the ways in which the United States and China remain linked, despite their tensions.
We must strengthen these ties rather than jeopardize them, which are very important for both countries to remain in a state of prosperity, stability and security.
We should not allow our hatred of China's internal system to be the basis for how we deal with this country, which is considered one of the most powerful and richest in the world, after the United States.
It is rarely wise to face two opponents at once.
President Biden must find new ways to work with China, rather than trying to force it to be different.
And he must take bold steps to mitigate mutual rhetoric, such as raising the tariffs imposed by former US President Donald Trump on Chinese goods in exchange for China reducing its support for Putin.
Otherwise, he will miss the opportunity to be a smart strategic chief, instead of constantly fighting with China.
Zakaria Karabell, American researcher and writer
The increasing focus on China's ability to disrupt the global order diminishes the space for US cooperation with Beijing and diverts attention from the real threat in the world, which is Russia.
Putin not only announced his intention to redraw international borders and revive the specter of the former Soviet Union, but worked to achieve it. China spends more money on developing its military than any other country after the United States, as it intends to counter American military supremacy in East Asia.
It is natural for a rising superpower, such as China, to draw up plans for its own defense, including a possible conflict with the United States.
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