US Secretary of State Antony Blinken admitted on Wednesday that China was not yet “over the border” to supply lethal weapons to Russia in the war in Ukraine.
“We haven’t seen them cross that line yet,” Blinken said in response to a question at a U.S. Senate hearing in Washington.
For several weeks, US diplomacy has been exerting intense diplomatic pressure on China to prevent it from supplying military equipment to Moscow.
“I believe that (China’s) diplomatic, political and to some extent material support for Russia is clearly against our interests, that we want to end this war,” Blinken told Congress.
Blinken also defended the need for his country to return to UNESCO to counter China’s influence in the organization.
The government of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) withdrew from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2018.
The head of US diplomacy has now justified the intention to reverse this position by claiming that “China is currently the largest contributor to UNESCO”, so the US should try to counter Beijing’s hegemony in this organization.
On the other hand, Blinken stressed that this organization is facing important regulations on artificial intelligence or education plans around the world, saying that the United States cannot ignore these discussions.
“I firmly believe that we should go back to UNESCO. Not to give (the organization) a gift, but because the things that happen at UNESCO really matter,” explains Blinken.
The secretary of state also proposed to Congress that the US budget for the Indo-Pacific region be increased by 18% to “strengthen the policy of overcoming China”.
In this sense, Blinken said there is a need to make new investments to increase the United States’ presence in the region in maritime safety, clean energy and new technologies.
Blinken acknowledged that the United States faces two major foreign policy challenges: the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and Beijing’s “long-term challenge”.
Source: DN
