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China and US must talk – we owe it to the world, Rubio tells Munich Security Conference
US secretary of state reaffirms American commitment to the transatlantic alliance, saying ‘Europe must survive’
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Finbarr Berminghamin Munich
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Munich Security Conference that it would be “geopolitical malpractice” not to talk to China, as he pledged that Washington would carefully manage its differences with Beijing.
“Because we’re two large countries with huge global interests, our national interests will often not align,” Rubio told the event in a keynote address on Saturday morning.
“We owe it to the world to try to manage those as best we can, obviously avoiding conflict, both economic and worse … but no one is under any illusion that bilateral relations will have fundamental changes.”
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Rubio’s remarks – ahead of US President Donald Trump’s expected trip to Beijing in April – were a continuation of his government’s softer rhetoric towards Beijing, even as he tried to rally the US’ allies against unnamed common challenges to Western civilisation.
“We have to have a relationship with China, and many of the countries represented here today are going to have to have a relationship with China, always understanding that nothing that we agree to could come at the expense of our national interest,” Rubio said.
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He added that the “goal of diplomacy is to try to navigate those times in which our national interests come into conflict with one another, always hoping to do it peacefully”.
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