On Thursday, US President Joe Biden said that the United States is ready to face any challenges put forward by China, but will also look forward to collaborating with China when it will benefit America. 

Biden stated in an address to the US State Department, “We will confront China’s economic abuses, counter its aggressive, coercive action to push back on China’s attack on human rights, intellectual property and global governance”, reported PTI. 

While hinting towards his policies towards China, he said, “But we are ready to work with Beijing when it is in America’s interest to do so. We will compete from a position of strength by building back better at home, working with our allies and partners, renewing our role in international institutions, and reclaiming our credibility and moral authority, much of which has been lost”.

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“That is why we have moved quickly to begin restoring American engagement internationally and earn back our leadership position to catalyse global action on shared challenges,” he added.

Before the US President spoke, Jake Sullivan, his National Security Advisor stated that the administration’s priority is not to get access to Goldman Sachs in China but “to make sure that we are dealing with China’s trade abuses that are harming American jobs and American workers in the United States.”

The newly elected administration in the US strongly believes that once the country revives its dominant position in the international realm, it will be better equipped to give competition to China in areas of technology, economy, security and diplomacy.  

“We will be able to counter Russia more effectively and we will be better equipped to address threats from climate change, to pandemics, to nuclear proliferation. We will also be able to more effectively pursue a foreign policy for the middle class. This is not just a tagline, it is an organising principle for the work that we will do,” Biden said.

Senator Rick Scott, in a letter sent to Llyod Austin, US Defense Secretary, highlighted the importance of keeping threats from communist China at the top of the priority list. 

He said, “As the United States faces increasingly frequent and dangerous threats from adversaries across the globe — namely communist China, Iran, Russia and North Korea — there has never been a more important time to ensure that our men and women in uniform have every resource they need to stand strong and combat threats to our freedoms and interests. Communist China is undoubtedly our greatest enemy and must be treated as such. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) policy of genocide against the Uyghurs, theft of American technology and dangerous actions to build its military presence and threaten the security of the United States and its allies cannot be tolerated”, reported PTI. 

The senator further requested the US Defense Secretary make sure that the aspects of strength and accountability shall be placed at the top of Biden’s policy agenda. 

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“We cannot forget, when the reckless actions of communist China adversely impact our allies, especially those in the Indo-Pacific region including Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, India or Taiwan, they also threaten the safety and security of the United States,” he said.

A total of 45 lawmakers in the US, led by Congressman Brad Wenstrup, wrote to Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State and Sullivan to take into account the human rights violations carried out by Chinese authorities in the case of Uyghurs. 

The members wrote, “There is little doubt that China poses one of the most significant challenges to the United States going forward. As part of the administration’s effort to confront this challenge, we urge you to prioritise holding the Chinese government accountable for the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang and stand up for the rights to life, human dignity and religious freedom for all people,” PTI reported.