U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described China as the most significant geopolitical challenge facing the United States, while stressing that relations with Beijing remain the most critical diplomatic engagement Washington must carefully manage.
Rubio made the remarks during an interview with Fox News aboard Air Force One while accompanying U.S. President Donald Trump on an official visit to China.
According to Rubio, China remains both America’s foremost geopolitical rival and one of its most important international relationships because of Beijing’s growing global influence.
“Both our top political challenge, geopolitically, and it’s also the most important relationship for us to manage, I mean, it’s a big, powerful country,” Rubio said.
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He noted that the United States and China would inevitably have competing national interests but stressed the importance of careful diplomacy to prevent conflict and preserve global stability.
“We’re going to have interests of ours that are going to be in conflict with interests of theirs – and to avoid wars and maintain peace and stability in the world, we’re going to have to manage those,” he said.
Rubio is accompanying President Trump to Beijing, where the U.S. leader is scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The U.S. Secretary of State also disclosed that Washington had made its position clear to Beijing regarding support for Iran, warning that any assistance to Tehran would negatively affect relations between the two global powers.
He said the matter would form part of discussions during the high-level meetings in Beijing.
China remains one of Iran’s key international partners, providing significant economic cooperation, while Washington has in recent years imposed sanctions on several Chinese companies accused of engaging in unauthorised trade with Tehran.
