US President Joe Biden said - yesterday, Tuesday - that the United States will not allow China to intimidate it, but at the same time he stressed that Washington does not seek a conflict with Beijing, describing America's democracy as invincible.
"Do not misunderstand us: as we showed clearly last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will work to protect our country and we have done so," Biden said - in his State of the Union speech to the House of Representatives and the Senate - in reference to the US military's downing of a Chinese balloon - last Saturday - off Coasts of South Carolina.
On the other hand, Biden responded in his speech to the sharp criticism of the Republican opposition, which accuses him of having waited too long, considering this an indication of "weakness" of his administration in the face of Beijing, and said that the United States today "is in the strongest position in decades to compete with China or any other party in the world." ".
He stressed that "winning the competition with China must unite us all," noting at the same time his determination to "work with China as this can serve American interests and benefit the entire world."
"I made it clear to (Chinese President) Xi Jinping that we seek competition, not conflict," Biden said, referring several times to the semiconductor manufacturing battle in which the United States lost its dominant position to China.
Biden did not dwell on foreign policy issues in his speech, which lasted just over an hour, during which he mentioned US support for Ukraine.
Addressing Ukraine's ambassador to Washington, Oksana Markarova, who was present, he said, "We will stand by you no matter what it takes. Our nation is working for more freedoms, dignity and peace (...) not only in Europe but everywhere."
Domestically, President Biden called his country's democracy "indomitable" and pledged to work with the opposition Republican Party.
In his first speech to a joint session of Congress since the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives last January, Biden cited progress in the economy following the coronavirus pandemic and stressed that a deeply divided Congress could overcome its differences.
"We've often been told that Democrats and Republicans can't work together. But over the past two years, we've proven the skeptics and opponents wrong," said Democrat Biden.
"I say to my Republican friends that if we were able to work together in the previous congressional session, there is no reason why we can't work together and reach consensus on important things in the current session as well," he added.