Department officially launched the "China Group" to deal with China's challenges
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| U.S. Secretary of State Blinken delivered a speech on U.S. policy toward China at George Washington University. (May 26, 2022) |
WASHINGTON —
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken presided over the launch ceremony of the newly established "Office of China Coordination" (Office of China Coordination) at the U.S. State Department on Friday (December 16). The agency, informally known as the China House, is dedicated to addressing geopolitical challenges from China. Prior to this, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency also successively established departments targeting China.
The "China Group" will "ensure that the U.S. government can responsibly manage our competition with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and advance our vision of an open and inclusive international system," the State Department said in a statement. "Our goal in establishing the 'China Group' is to help implement elements of the Biden administration's strategy toward the People's Republic of China," Zhong said.
Blinken said Friday in a speech at the "China Group," an agency that brings together China experts from and outside the U.S. State Department who work with State Department colleagues in other parts of the world, as well as international security, economics, technology, multilateral diplomacy Work side-by-side with experts in strategic communications.
When Blinken delivered the Biden administration's China policy speech at George Washington University on May 26, he mentioned the plan of the US State Department to set up a "China Group". In that speech, he said, "As part of my proposed modernization agenda, I am determined to provide the State Department and our diplomats with the tools needed to meet this challenge head-on. This includes creating a 'China House' (China House) -- an integrated team across the Department of State -- to coordinate and implement our policies across issues and regions, working with Congress as necessary." Blinken said the scale and scope of the challenges China poses will be critical American diplomacy poses an unprecedented test.
The "China team" will consist of about 60-70 people and will be headed by Rick Waters, the US State Department's deputy assistant secretary for China and Taiwan affairs. According to a CNN report in the United States, the new agency will expand the number of diplomats who focus on China, and there will also be US government personnel from other departments working in the "China Group" in rotation, making it a cross-departmental action .
U.S. President Joe Biden held his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping since Biden became president on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November. Analysts believe that the Bali summit between Biden and Xi Jinping temporarily stabilized the declining US-China relations. Blinken is also expected to make his first visit to China in January.
From December 11th to 12th, Daniel Kritenbrink, US Assistant Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific Affairs, and Laura Rosenberger, Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs of the White House National Security Council, met with China in Langfang, Hebei. Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng held a meeting with the purpose of following up on Biden's meeting with Xi Jinping and preparing for Blinken's visit to China.
A senior White House official said last week that China hopes to stabilize relations with the United States in the short term as it faces domestic economic challenges and the coronavirus outbreak, while resisting its aggressive diplomacy in Asia.
