U.S. Department of State
A Foreign Policy for the American People
SPEECH
ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE
BEN FRANKLIN ROOM
WASHINGTON, D.C.
MARCH 3, 2021
HONG KONG EXCERPTS
SECRETARY BLINKEN:
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Our relationship with China will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be, and adversarial when it must be. The common denominator is the need to engage China from a position of strength.
That requires working with allies and partners, not denigrating them, because our combined weight is much harder for China to ignore. It requires engaging in diplomacy and in international organizations, because where we have pulled back, China has filled in. It requires standing up for our values when human rights are abused in Xinjiang or when democracy is trampled in Hong Kong, because if we don’t, China will act with even greater impunity. And it means investing in American workers, companies, and technologies, and insisting on a level playing field, because when we do, we can out-compete anyone.
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