The United States has come to the attention of evidence that China is trying to “influence and interfere” in the upcoming elections. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this to news channel CNN at the end of a three-day visit to China.
Blinken did not provide specific details during the interview with CNN. However, he said that in his conversations in recent days he has reiterated President Joe Biden’s warning to Xi Jinping during a summit in the US last November. Biden then warned his Chinese counterpart not to intervene in the presidential election later this year. Xi would have agreed to that.
“We have seen evidence overall of attempts at influence and interference, and we want to make sure that that ends as quickly as possible,” Blinken said when asked whether China is living up to Xi’s pledge.
“Any interference by China in our elections is something we are looking at very carefully and is completely unacceptable to us, so I wanted to make sure they heard that message again,” Blinken said, adding that Washington fears that China and other countries could exploit divisions in the US.
Beijing insists it is not interfering in the US elections. China or related actors have already been accused of political interference in other countries, such as Canada.
Blinken buys records in Beijing
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded his visit to China on a light note. In Beijing he walked into a record store, because music is ‘the great connector’, Blinken said. With albums by Taylor Swift and Chinese rocker Dou Wei under his arm, he left for the airport.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.
Yes, I want free unlimited access
