US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday that Washington would not force
any of its allies to choose sides against China and vowed a new adding that the
Joe Biden administration will work closer with its partners, reported AFP.

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“When
our allies shoulder their share of burden, it is reasonable for them to expect
to have a say in making key decisions and we will honour these expectations. It
begins with us consulting our friends early and often,” said Blinken at NATO
headquarters in Brussels.

This influential
speech on his first official tour to Europe marks an apparent shift of approach
under President Joe Biden when compared to his predecessor Donald Trump’s
combative and hostile approach.

It
comes a day before Biden will join a video summit with EU leaders to press home
the message that his administration wants to rebuild transatlantic ties.

Biden
is keen to take a multilateral approach as he looks to enlist NATO allies and
the EU in a united front of democracies to the authoritarian challenge of
China.

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“The
United States won’t force our allies into an ‘us-or-them’ choice with
China,” Blinken said.

America’s
top diplomat insisted “there’s no question that China’s coercive behaviour
threatens our collective security and prosperity”.

“But
that doesn’t mean countries can’t work with China where possible, for example
on climate change and health security.”

Blinken
was set to meet EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and foreign policy head Josep
Borrell for talks later Wednesday.

The
US and EU took a first step towards joint action against Beijing by unveiling
synchronised sanctions on Monday over the crackdown on the Uyghurs in China.

Also Read: Antony Blinken says nations were candid in first ‘tough’ US-China dialogue

But
Brussels irritated Biden’s team by agreeing an investment deal with Beijing
weeks before he took office.

Blinken
said Washington wants to work with partners to “close the gaps in areas
like technology and infrastructure, where Beijing is exploiting to exert
coercive pressure.”

“We
will rely on innovation, not ultimatums,” he said.

The
US is also seeking to stand together with allies in the face of a more
assertive Russia.

Blinken
raised Washington’s potential sanctions over the controversial Nord Stream 2
gas pipeline project between Russia and Germany in a meeting with Berlin’s top
diplomat Heiko Maas.

On
the contentious issue of defence spending, Trump repeatedly harangued wealthy
NATO members like Germany to reach a target of two percent of gross domestic
product.

Blinken
said this goal remained “crucial”, but softened Washington’s approach
by admitting that allies could “shoulder their share of the burden in
different ways”.

“No
single number fully captures a country’s contribution to defending our
collective security,” he said.

There
appeared also to be a message for NATO members such as Turkey where the
government has been accused of clamping down on the opposition and rights.

“We
all must speak up when countries take steps that undermine democracy and human
rights,” Blinken said.

“And
we must help those countries move back in the right direction, by strengthening
the guardrails of democracy.”

At an
earlier bilateral meeting, Blinken pressed Turkey’s foreign minister over
Ankara’s purchase of a Russian air defence system, withdrawal from a treaty on
violence against women, and rights record.

Biden’s
administration is still formulating its overall approach to Ankara — but it
maintains that it sees the country as an important ally that it wants to keep
firmly in NATO.