Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Aug 03, 2025

Antony Blinken, Biden's State Department pick, says Donald Trump "got it right" on China

Antony Blinken, Biden's State Department pick, says Donald Trump "got it right" on China

Blinken said "no party has a monopoly on good ideas," and he embraced Trump's tough stance in dealing with China.
President-elect Joe Biden's secretary of state nominee welcomed bipartisan foreign policy ideas and said President Donald Trump was largely right in taking a hard stance toward China during his tenure in the White House.

The incoming president's pick to lead the U.S. State Department, former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, told Senate confirmation hearing members that "no party has a monopoly on good ideas." Blinken reiterated his opposition to "the way Trump went about" implementing his foreign policy, but he supported the president's peace efforts in Israel and the Balkans. In regards to China, which current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused of committing "genocide" on Tuesday, Blinken said he supports Trump's approach of leveraging U.S. strength.

"I think there are a number of things, from where I sat, that the Trump administration did beyond our borders that I would applaud," Blinken told Wisconsin GOP Senator Ron Johnson, pushing back against partisan remarks about his previous boss, former President Barack Obama.

"I also believe President Trump was right in taking a tougher approach to China. I disagree very much with the way he went about it in a number of ways, but the basic principle was the right one and I think that's very helpful to our foreign policy," Blinken said. "I have issues with the way he carried it out, in many ways."

Johnson agreed, saying Trump "opened everybody's eyes in terms of China's malign intent."

Senate confirmation hearings for several Biden Cabinet roles—including director of national intelligence, treasury secretary and homeland security secretary—are taking place alongside Blinken's on Tuesday. He reiterated that "ceding ground" to China in the international marketplace allows them to write the rules and undermines America's position of strength. Blinken criticized Trump for what he views as a severing of ties with some of the U.S.'s strongest allies—a united front needed to compete or work with China in the future.

"There is no doubt [China] poses the most significant challenge of any nation state to the United States in terms of our interests and the interests of the American people," Blinken said Tuesday. "We have to start by approaching China from a position of strength, not weakness. The good news is our ability to do that is largely within our control—a position of strength is when we are working with and not denigrating our allies. That is a source of strength for us when dealing with China."

Pompeo on Tuesday made the U.S. the first country to declare China's treatment of the Muslim Uighur people "genocide." The announcement was dismissed by Beijing as a parting shot from the Trump administration, but Pompeo accused China of "crimes against humanity."

When asked if he agrees with Pompeo's "genocide" accusation against China, Blinken said "that would be my judgment as well."

Blinken summarized his approach to China by describing three possible avenues of action: "There are rising adversarial aspects to the relationship, certainly competitive ones and still some cooperative ones when it is in our mutual interest." He praised the Trump administration's role in the Abraham Accords and "normalization with Israel" in the Middle East. He also approved Trump's time spent trying to "move Kosovo forward" in disputes with Serbia over the past four years.

Newsweek reached out to the State Department as well as the Biden transition team for additional remarks Tuesday afternoon.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
×