US trying to mobilize anti-Russian bloc into broader coalition to counter China

WASHINGTON (AP) — US officials say the Biden administration is aiming to lead the international bloc opposed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine into a broader coalition to counter what it sees as a more serious, long-term threat to global order from China.

The officials said Secretary of State Antony Blinken will lay out a three-pillar approach to competing with Beijing in a race to define the 21st century’s economic and military balance in a Thursday speech outlining the administration’s China policy.

While the US sees Russia as the most acute and immediate threat to international stability, the officials said the administration believes China poses a greater danger and is marshaling its resources, friends and allies to push back on increasing Chinese assertiveness around the world.

The officials spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity to preview Blinken’s speech to be delivered at George Washington University. The speech follows President Joe Biden’s just-concluded visits to South Korea and Japan, where China loomed large in discussions.

The officials said Blinken will make the case that the global response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine serves as a template for dealing with China’s efforts to mold a new and unpredictable world order to replace the rules and institutions that have guided relations between states since the end of World War II.

One official said that Blinken will tell his audience that “by preventing Putin from achieving his aims, we believe we are greatly strengthening our hands to defend and uphold disorder against challenges by others.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk to each other during their meeting in Beijing, China on February 4, 2022. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

And, the official said, Blinken will note that “China is the one country that has the intention as well as the economic, technological, military and diplomatic means to advance a different vision of international order.”

Blinken will say that the administration intends to leverage its success in rallying support for Ukraine against Russia to align US allies and partners to counter China, according to the officials. Investment in domestic US infrastructure and technology along with stepping up diplomatic outreach to potentially vulnerable countries are other elements of the policy, the officials said.

The Biden administration has largely kept in place confrontational policies toward China adopted by its predecessor in response to Chinese actions in its western Xinjiang region, Hong Kong, Tibet and the South China Sea.

And, while the administration sees areas for working with Beijing, such as combatting climate change, it will not trade cooperation for compromising on its principles regarding human rights and rule of law, the officials said.