The number two of the US State Department Wendy Sherman on Thursday denounced China’s desire for hegemony in the world, calling on Europe to help the United States counter competition from Beijing.
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“Even before (Chinese) President Xi and (Russian) President Vladimir Putin declared their boundless partnership in February, China challenged security in Europe, economy in Europe and values in Europe,” he said. Ms. Sherman during a videoconference from Washington with the European press.
Speaking of China’s “economic harassment” aimed at Europe, Ms Sherman cited China’s recent blocking of Lithuanian exports, Beijing’s “failure to deliver” the construction of a highway in Montenegro, and targeting European companies such as Adidas or Nike.
Ms. Sherman’s press briefing comes in the wake of a speech by her boss, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who recently made Beijing the main threat to world order, despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Washington accuses Beijing of wanting to reshape the world order.
In a speech on May 25, the US secretary of state claimed that Washington was engaged in vigorous competition with Beijing in an effort to preserve the world order.
The Biden administration has spoken of the need to pressure China to play by the rules, including in its South China Sea and trade disputes.
“Even if Beijing is thousands of kilometers away (..), China’s actions have an impact on the future of Europe,” said Ms. Sherman, welcoming the current cooperation with the Europeans in this area while wishing to “align our approaches.
The American diplomat notably highlighted the fact that “everyone is thinking about supply chain issues” in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
“The United States is not looking for conflict” with China or to “decouple” its economy from that of China, said the Assistant Secretary of State. “We don’t want a new Cold War,” she said, but “we can’t count on Beijing to change its behavior.”
She also stressed that the United States was “attentive” to this alliance between Russia and China, threatening Beijing “with consequences” if the Chinese authorities ever decided to send equipment (weapons, editor’s note) to Russia. , which is currently not the case.
But she denounced the fact that Beijing massively relayed a whole series of “disinformation” from Moscow.
“Quite frankly, I think Russia and Putin will be pariahs for a very long time and I’m not sure China will benefit from that,” she concluded.
