London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Antony Blinken, Biden's State Department pick, says Donald Trump "got it right" on China

Antony Blinken, Biden's State Department pick, says Donald Trump "got it right" on China

Blinken said "no party has a monopoly on good ideas," and he embraced Trump's tough stance in dealing with China.
President-elect Joe Biden's secretary of state nominee welcomed bipartisan foreign policy ideas and said President Donald Trump was largely right in taking a hard stance toward China during his tenure in the White House.

The incoming president's pick to lead the U.S. State Department, former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, told Senate confirmation hearing members that "no party has a monopoly on good ideas." Blinken reiterated his opposition to "the way Trump went about" implementing his foreign policy, but he supported the president's peace efforts in Israel and the Balkans. In regards to China, which current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused of committing "genocide" on Tuesday, Blinken said he supports Trump's approach of leveraging U.S. strength.

"I think there are a number of things, from where I sat, that the Trump administration did beyond our borders that I would applaud," Blinken told Wisconsin GOP Senator Ron Johnson, pushing back against partisan remarks about his previous boss, former President Barack Obama.

"I also believe President Trump was right in taking a tougher approach to China. I disagree very much with the way he went about it in a number of ways, but the basic principle was the right one and I think that's very helpful to our foreign policy," Blinken said. "I have issues with the way he carried it out, in many ways."

Johnson agreed, saying Trump "opened everybody's eyes in terms of China's malign intent."

Senate confirmation hearings for several Biden Cabinet roles—including director of national intelligence, treasury secretary and homeland security secretary—are taking place alongside Blinken's on Tuesday. He reiterated that "ceding ground" to China in the international marketplace allows them to write the rules and undermines America's position of strength. Blinken criticized Trump for what he views as a severing of ties with some of the U.S.'s strongest allies—a united front needed to compete or work with China in the future.

"There is no doubt [China] poses the most significant challenge of any nation state to the United States in terms of our interests and the interests of the American people," Blinken said Tuesday. "We have to start by approaching China from a position of strength, not weakness. The good news is our ability to do that is largely within our control—a position of strength is when we are working with and not denigrating our allies. That is a source of strength for us when dealing with China."

Pompeo on Tuesday made the U.S. the first country to declare China's treatment of the Muslim Uighur people "genocide." The announcement was dismissed by Beijing as a parting shot from the Trump administration, but Pompeo accused China of "crimes against humanity."

When asked if he agrees with Pompeo's "genocide" accusation against China, Blinken said "that would be my judgment as well."

Blinken summarized his approach to China by describing three possible avenues of action: "There are rising adversarial aspects to the relationship, certainly competitive ones and still some cooperative ones when it is in our mutual interest." He praised the Trump administration's role in the Abraham Accords and "normalization with Israel" in the Middle East. He also approved Trump's time spent trying to "move Kosovo forward" in disputes with Serbia over the past four years.

Newsweek reached out to the State Department as well as the Biden transition team for additional remarks Tuesday afternoon.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×