‘Being prepared to act as well to impose costs for what China is doing in Xinjiang, what it’s doing in Hong Kong, for the bellicosity of threats that it is projecting towards Taiwan.’

Secretary Condoleezza Rice:‘Can you talk a little bit about interests, values, and maybe in the context of China?’

Jake Sullivan: ‘I think there are four major steps that the United States needs to take to contend with the challenges you just outlined.’

‘Step one is to recognize that China is essentially making the case that the Chinese model is better than the American model.’

• ‘And they're pointing to dysfunction and division in the United States and saying, “Take a look at that, their system doesn't work, our system does.” ’
• ‘Increasingly over the last few years, you've heard their leaders right from the top speak more explicitly in these terms.’
• ‘This is not any one or some kind of implied contrast, it is an explicit statement that there is an alternative model to the democratic market economy model that these United States has been advancing over the course of decades.’
• ‘So, step one, is to go back to this point about domestic renewal, is to refurbish the fundamental foundations of our democracy.’
• ‘That goes for everything from our democratic system itself, to issues of racial inequity, to issues of economic inequality, all of the things that have contributed to the shine coming off the American model over the course of time.’

‘Step two is to recognize that we are going to be most effective in advancing our vision for what a free, prosperous, equitable society looks like if we are doing so in lockstep with democratic allies and partners.’

• ‘By ourselves, we represent about a quarter of the world's economy. With our allies and partners in both Europe and Asia, we represent more than half of the world’s economy.'
• ‘That provides us not just the kind of leverage we need to be able to produce outcomes, but it provides us a chorus of voices that can drive the argument that says, “We are going to stand up for a certain set of principles in the face of aggression and the kinds of steps that China has taken.” ’

‘The third step is to recognize something you said, which is, all of this really comes home to roost with technology, and who ultimately is going to be leading the world on key emerging technologies in the future—artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology, clean energy, and so much else.’

• ‘That requires a combination of working closely with allies and partners and making an aggressive, ambitious public investment here in the United States so that we stay on the cutting edge.’

‘And then the last step is speaking with clarity and consistency on these issues - being prepared to act as well to impose costs for what China is doing in Xinjiang, what it’s doing in Hong Kong, for the bellicosity of threats that it is projecting towards Taiwan.’

• ‘This administration is intent, at every level, from the president, across the State Department, the Defense Department, every embassy around the world, to speaking with that clarity and consistency and voice, and that will be an important part of our strategy as well.’

‘That's obviously not a complete picture of this complex challenge, but gives you some sense of the way that we’re thinking about China.’