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US wants coexistence not cold war with China, Jake Sullivan says
- National security adviser says the White House will not repeat the errors of the past by trying to transform China
- The two rivals are already engaged in fierce competition, analysts says
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The US is seeking coexistence with China rather than containment or a new cold war, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on the weekend as he laid out the US’ policy on China.
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In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Sullivan said the administration of US President Joe Biden did not intend to repeat “one of the errors” of previous policies by seeking to transform the Chinese system.
“The [objective] of the Biden administration is to shape the international environment so that it is more favourable to the interests and values of the US, allies, partners, to like-minded democracies. It is not to bring about a fundamental transformation of China itself,” he said.
“The goal of America’s China policy is to create a circumstance in which two major powers are going to have to operate in an international system for the foreseeable future, and we want the terms of that ... to be favourable to American interests and values.”
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China urges US President Joe Biden to act cautiously over Taiwan, warns ‘no room for compromise’
China urges US President Joe Biden to act cautiously over Taiwan, warns ‘no room for compromise’
Sullivan’s comments come about a month after his talks with China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, in Switzerland and as the two powers continue to spar on almost every front, from technology, to the military, space and Taiwan.
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