State Department Chief Patel: China is the only rival of the U.S. that can change the world order
China is the only rival of the United States, which can change the existing world order. Deputy Secretary of State Vedant Patel said this on Twitter (the social network is blocked at the request of the General Prosecutor’s Office).
“The PRC is our only competitor that intends to change the international order,” he said. To that end, Patel said, China is building up its economic, diplomatic, military and technological strength.
Relations between Beijing and Washington deteriorated in August, following a visit to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. China does not recognize the island’s independence and considers it its territory. Therefore, it harshly criticized the visit, launched military exercises near Taiwan and has been regularly moving its military forces near the island ever since.
In response to the exercises of the Chinese military, Taiwan has raised the level of military readiness. The island authorities also decided to triple the military conscription period (from four months to a year), explaining this by the threat from the PRC. Although the United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it sells arms to it under a special law on relations adopted in 1979, which provides for the supply of arms to the country for self-defense.
At the opening ceremony of the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party on October 16, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that Beijing will oppose separatism in Taiwan and does not rule out the use of force. He also stressed the need to turn the Chinese People’s Liberation Army into a “world-class” force by 2027. According to the U.S. CIA, Beijing has instructed the military to prepare for military control of Taiwan by that date.