‘There’s no doubt that China poses the most significant challenge to us of any other country, but it’s a complicated one.’

ANDREA MITCHELL: ‘You’ve said that China is the most significant threat – you said that in your confirmation hearing – against American national interests.  Would you take steps if there is any action by China against Taiwan?  Do you see a military confrontation possibly in our future with China?’

SECRETARY BLINKEN: ‘There’s no doubt that China poses the most significant challenge to us of any other country, but it’s a complicated one.’

• ‘There are adversarial aspects to the relationship, there’s certainly competitive ones, and there’s still some cooperative ones, too.’
• ‘But whether we’re dealing with any of those aspects of the relationship, we have to be able to approach China from a position of strength, not weakness.’

‘And that strength, I think, comes from having strong alliances, something China does not have; actually engaging in the world and showing up in these international institutions.’

• ‘Because we when pull back, China fills in and then they’re the ones writing the rules and setting the norms of these institutions;’
• 'standing up for our values when China is challenging them, including in Xinjiang against the Uyghurs or democracy in Hong Kong;’
• 'making sure that our military is postured so that it can deter Chinese aggression; and investing in our own people so that they can fully compete.’

‘But the good news about each of these is that they’re fully within our control.’

• ‘And in many ways, the challenge posed by China is as much about some of our own self-inflicted weaknesses as it is about China’s emerging strength.  But we can address those weaknesses.’
• ‘We can actually build back better in this area too when it comes to stronger alliances, when it comes to engaging in the world, standing up for our values, investing in our people, making sure our military is properly postured.’

ANDREA MITCHELL: ‘Well, with the economy weighing so heavily on many Americans, millions of Americans, should we be lifting the tariffs that were imposed by President Trump on China?'

SECRETARY BLINKEN: ‘We’re reviewing all of that.’

• ‘We have to make sure that any time we act, the first question we ask ourselves is:  Is this advancing the interests of our own people?  Is it making them more prosperous?  Is it advancing their security?  Is it extending their values?  That’s the first question we have to ask.’
• ‘And so when it comes to something like a tariff, is it doing more harm to us than it is to the country they’re being wielded against?  That’s the question we’re asking.'

ANDREA MITCHELL: ‘Should the U.S. join Britain in opening its doors to refugees fleeing the political repression in Hong Kong?’

SECRETARY BLINKEN: ‘I believe we should. We’ve seen China act egregiously to undermine the very commitments it made during the handover of Hong Kong to – from Britain.’

• ‘We see people in Hong Kong standing up for their own rights, the rights that they felt were guaranteed to them.’
• ‘And if they are the victims of repression from Chinese authorities, we should do something to give them haven.’