US ‘ready to take on China’

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said the US was ready to confront China wherever necessary, calling Washington’s ties with the Asian power the “biggest geopolitical test” of the century.

In his first major speech, Mr Blinken promised that President Joe Biden’s administration would prioritise diplomacy over military action and build co-operation with the world on global challenges such as climate change and COVID-19.

“We will manage the biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century: our relationship with China,” Mr Blinken said at the State Department.

“China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system — all the rules, values and relationships that make the world work the way we want it to,” he said.