Secretary of State Anthony Blinken meeting with Xi Jinping in
Beijing earlier as he wraps up his three day trip
to China.
Xi Jinping telling Blinken that China is quote happy to
see a confident,
open, prosperous and thriving United States and he hopes the
US can also look at China's development in a positive
light.
Blinken also meeting with China's Foreign minister for nearly six
hours,
who told Blinken quote the China US relationship is beginning
to stabilize,
but warned that negative factors were increasing.
Here's Blinken this morning on this Trip Watch
I'm pleased to announce that earlier today
we agreed to hold the first
USPRC talks on artificial intelligence
to be held. In the coming weeks,
we'll share our respective views on the risks and safety
concerns around advanced AI
and how best to manage them.
We also spoke about ways that we can continue to
grow people to people ties between our countries,
particularly educational exchanges.
So what did Ultimate get done from this?
Another meeting with U.S. officials in China.
Joining me now is Hudson Institute Senior Fellow,
Atlas Organization Founder and the author of The Decisive decade,
Jonathan DT Ward, Jonathan, always pleasure.
Anything strike you about Lincoln's trip this time?
Well, look Maria, I mean I don't think this is
time for detente with the Communist Party of China.
I mean going over there and talking about what we
can cooperate on as they undertake the most significant military
buildup in modern history,
a major nuclear buildup as they continue to ship fentanyl
into the United States,
killing 10s of thousands of Americans every year.
The idea that we're going to have these working groups
and discussions over you know high end technologies that are
patently dual use in military and strategic competition.
I mean just we're we're not in a point in
this petition where we even have a grand strategy that
is anything you know looks anything like something focused on
winning. So you know I I personally am losing my
patience a bit with some of these meetings.
I mean at at his press conference this morning he
talks about having a working group with the Communist Party
of China on fentanyl and just after Congress released a
report that explains that the CCP is directly subsidizing the
manufacturer and export of fentanyl.
So that's, you know, I,
I just don't find this terribly useful.
I mean, it was also supposedly Blinken was over there
to explain to them that there would be serious consequences
for their support for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
And if that's true, I mean,
that's the kind of meaningful message that has to be
delivered.
But classical diplomacy is about victory.
It is about organizing the international order so that our
interests ultimately prevail over,
you know, the most potent adversaries there are.
And I think, you know,
this is not, in my view,
the diplomacy of victory. It's not the diplomacy of shaping
the international order
against our main adversary. I mean,
there is some of that.
There was a great visit
with Japan's Prime Minister and with South Korea.
But I think we really need to be focused.
I mean the State Department has to be focused on
a global contest against,
you know, these this, this horrific regime in Beijing.
And and I think, you know,
the years of engagement, we did it for 40 years.
We transformed China from an agrarian state into,
you know, an industrial and technological superpower.
And, you know, I don't think there's anything that we
have left to give that will improve this relationship.
It's now about focusing on defeating them in geopolitical,
you know, sort of global competition.
Well, that's not what we hear from Anthony Blinken.
I mean, you know, just a minute ago when he's
telling us that we're gonna share information on AI,
something tells me the Chinese are not gonna share anything
with the US in terms of how they're using AI,
particularly as they apply AI to their military.
As you just said, there's a story in the Journal
this morning that says states take on China in the
name of national security.
I thought it was interesting because it goes through the
stakes that have the states in America that have actually
been tough on China.
Like, for example, they're talking about
Governor Glenn Youngkin. Also Kristi Noem has been tough,
you know, saying you can't come here and buy land
in South Dakota next to our military installation.
Same thing that Governor Glenn Youngkin has said about Virginia.
Are the states doing more than the actual federal government
to protect this country?
Well, not necessarily Maria. I mean the thing that we
have to realize is that Beijing strategy towards the US
is at a very granular level and they actually have
approaches to individual states, to individual cities,
to you know it's sort of
you know the the legislatures inside American states.
So they they are looking at how to play our
system.
I mean that's been true for a long time and
a lot of it has to do with the trade
ties.
You know you have some of the China lobbying groups
in Washington explaining that
you know every state has its own trading relationship with
China,
that sort of thing. So I think it is important
for our states to get smarter on this,
for our governors to understand how this works.
I mean, I think unfortunately when we saw Governor Newsom
go over
to have his photo OPS with Beijing
and and discuss electric vehicles and those sorts of things,
I mean, you know, we're not yet I think focused
as a nation on how to win this game other
than in Congress.
We just had some very encouraging work come out in
a bipartisan way.
But I think we do have to learn how to
play this,
you know, across the board.
It's not just Washington versus Beijing.
It's going to be the whole country is going to
have to get
into this game and figure out how to how to
compete.
And you know, part of this is going to be
about,
you know, the prosperity of our own state systems and
you know,
building trade ties with other countries that are actually our
friends.
Learning how to offset that large chunk of trade with
China,
which can be done at a state level.
I think that is going to be important,
yeah. And it, and it includes other constituents that Beijing
has tried to lobby,
like CEO's, business, like Hollywood,
like universities. But you mentioned Congress,
Florida Senator Marco Rubio and New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik
calling on the administration to block all sales to Huawei
after the blacklisted Chinese company released a computer powered by
Intel's new AI processor chip.
They write to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
This this would be unacceptable and a failure to enforce
export controls against a blacklisted champion of the CCP,
which is actively working against the security interests of the
United States.
We urge you to reconsider this damaging posture and immediately
revoke all export licenses to Huawei.
Jonathan, a word on Huawei,
because you've done an incredible amount of work on this.
I wrote all about this in my book,
The Cost, which came out in 2020.
Huawei is the CC PS main tool of surveillance,
is it not? In terms of surveilling other countries?
Huawei equipment is used all around the world.
And now you've got these two lawmakers urging Gina Raimondo,
the Commerce Department, not to give business to Huawei and
put these pipes in American homes and businesses because they're
spying on us.
Well, look, Huawei has come roaring back.
I mean, this is very distressing.
I mean, they are. At the end of
2023, their total revenue was $100 billion.
So that would put them squarely in,
you know, in the Fortune Global 100 probably.
So, you know, one of the biggest companies in the
world and they've really been allowed to grow back.
There was a lot of success and a lot of
focus,
I think, in the Trump administration on
getting them out of the alliance system,
pushing them out of the US We got them out
of Australia,
out of the UK. I mean,
India banned Huawei long ago.
And they've been TikTok, too,
by the way, without any real economic damage to the
themselves.
But you know, Huawei, as the FBI told us years
ago,
is is just at the centerpiece of Chinas intent to
dominate
international telecommunications infrastructure. I mean,
their chairman of their board was a former employee of
China's state security services. You know,
all of it. It's a long list,
We all know that. But they've been able to come
back.
Most of this revenue is in the China market and
and their access to American technology has allowed them
to produce new products, one of which was announced during
Gina Raimondo visit the
the, the handset that they released
and there's still a somewhat international company and they've got
a lot of revenue in Europe,
Middle East, Africa and some in Asia.
So. So we have a big job to do when
it comes to Huawei,
it's, I think it's it's
unfortunate that they've come back and we've got a focus
on finishing the job.
Yeah. All right, Jonathan, great to have this chat.
We so appreciate your time this morning.
Jonathan DT Ward joining us on Communist China and.