US-China ties: competition, not engagement from now on, Kurt Campbell says
- Period of US engagement with China has ‘come to an end’, White House’s Indo-Pacific policy director says
- Beijing says it ‘firmly rejected the US’ efforts to exclude, contain and suppress China under the banner of competition’
A senior US official on Asia said Washington is seeking to allay fears of the United States’ decline, as it rallies allies to defend the regional order against greater competition from a more aggressive China.
Kurt Campbell, the White House’s Indo-Pacific policy director, said on Wednesday that the “dominant paradigm” between China and the US would now be one of competition, as the period of US engagement with China had “come to an end”.
Campbell delivered his remarks at a virtual event at Stanford University, where he said Washington needed to shore up the effectiveness of its domestic governance to dispel concerns from its allies in Asia on American staying power, and to sustain the “operating system” that the US helped build in the region that was under “substantial strain” from a rising China.