{"id":32934,"date":"2021-03-16T20:00:34","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T03:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=32934"},"modified":"2021-03-16T20:00:34","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T03:00:34","slug":"senior-administration-officials-preview-of-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-and-secretary-of-state-antony-j-blinkens-trip-to-anchorage-alaska","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=32934","title":{"rendered":"Senior Administration Officials Preview of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken\u2019s Trip to Anchorage, Alaska"},"content":{"rendered":"
03\/16\/2021 10:20 PM EDT<\/div>\n
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Office of the Spokesperson<\/p>\n

VIA TELECONFERENCE<\/p>\n

MODERATOR:\u00a0 Hi, everyone.\u00a0 Good evening.<\/p>\n

Our call today is going to be attributed to senior administration officials.\u00a0 Our speakers today are and .\u00a0 Again, on background, to SAOs, and the contents of this call are embargoed until its conclusion.<\/p>\n

With that, I will turn it over to to open us up.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, thanks so much, , and thanks to all of you for joining us on the line this evening.\u00a0 I want to start off by situating the Anchorage meeting in the context of our broader Indo-Pacific Strategy, which many of you have seen that we\u2019ve been rolling out on quite rapidly.<\/p>\n

But starting on our approach to China as part of that broader Indo-Pacific Strategy, we\u2019ve been clear from the beginning that there are three main pieces to our approach to China.\u00a0 The first is strengthening ourselves at home, and we see the \u2013 addressing the economic recovery, pandemic response, enhancing our competitiveness as absolutely critical and key to that.\u00a0 We\u2019ve now seen in the 50-odd days under our belts here the American Recovery Act passed.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen vaccine distribution accelerated on a pretty significant scale.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen a lot of positive trend lines on what we can do at home on core domestic sources of strength.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got more work to do, but we feel like we are off to a pretty good start with the domestic efforts that are going to give us the sources of strength that we need to compete with China and to have an affirmative approach to the Indo-Pacific region.<\/p>\n

The second piece of it is our allies and partners and our work in international institutions.\u00a0 I think that all of you will have seen \u2013 and, of course, you\u2019ve got the Secretary of State currently in the region, which I\u2019ll leave to to speak to \u2013 but we have had early and intensive engagements, virtually and now in person, to move out aggressively with our allies and partners.\u00a0 And this is about working with our allies and partners on our shared interests and our shared values, but also in terms of understanding where we face similar challenges, including from China.<\/p>\n

I think sometimes folks think of our allies and partners piece here as just being about choreography, that somehow we just need to talk to our allies before we talk to China.\u00a0 And I want to stress that that\u2019s actually not the case.\u00a0 Obviously, that sequencing is part of the equation here, but we\u2019re working actually with allies and partners to strengthen our hand.\u00a0 I think that the Quad last week was probably the most important very clear illustration in practical terms of exactly what we\u2019re trying to achieve here, bringing together the four leaders in a virtual summit for the first time to actually do something together that we couldn\u2019t do individually, particularly on the vaccine distribution deliverable.\u00a0 That was big and affirmative for the region.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t just about something that is here to counter China; this is about something that\u2019s actually about doing something that enhances our leverage, enhances the quality of life in the region in meaningful ways.<\/p>\n

And so that work is well underway.\u00a0 I\u2019d also just note that our diplomacy as it relates to the Indo-Pacific is not limited just to the Indo-Pacific.\u00a0 We have been engaged in some pretty intensive diplomacy with our European partners and allies on the Indo-Pacific region, including on China.\u00a0 We\u2019ve had a series of engagements at all levels with European partners and allies.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been doing a bit of a virtual roadshow with a number of different capitals, having interagency conversations with key interlocutors there to really compare notes.<\/p>\n

And two, we\u2019ve always said that the domestic piece, strengthening ourselves at home, and then working with allies, partners, and international institutions to strengthen ourselves globally is really key to setting up how we are going to both confront China where it is undermining our interests and values, and where we\u2019re going to cooperate with China where we have an interest in doing so.\u00a0 I think that it\u2019s really important that that is the backdrop for our conversations in Anchorage.\u00a0 We are coming in with what we feel like is an increasing \u2013 increasingly strong hand to come to the table with our Chinese interlocutors.<\/p>\n

I think that the conversations in Anchorage are very much intended as an initial discussion to understand one another\u2019s interests \u2013 sorry, our interests, intentions, and priorities, and frankly, to get a bit of an understanding of where the Chinese are at.<\/p>\n

We think it\u2019s really important that our Chinese interlocutors hear from Secretary Blinken and from National Security Advisor Sullivan directly about our priorities and about our intentions.\u00a0 We know that sometimes there is a sense, potentially a perception, or maybe it\u2019s a hope, in Beijing that our public message is somehow different than our private message.\u00a0 And we think it\u2019s really important that we dispel that idea very early and that we\u2019re very clear with delivering the same messages in private that you have heard from us in public.\u00a0 That includes making very clear our deep concerns about a range of issues, whether it\u2019s Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Chinese economic coercion of our allies and partners, China\u2019s increasingly aggressive activities across the Taiwan Strait.\u00a0 We will absolutely make those points very clear.\u00a0 But this is really about having a broader strategic conversation, it\u2019s about communicating the areas where we intend to take steps, and it\u2019s about understanding where our Chinese interlocutors are at.<\/p>\n

Let me just make a couple of other specific points on the meeting itself and the goals around it.\u00a0 I know you\u2019ve heard this from folks already, but just to reinforce it, that this really is a one-off meeting.\u00a0 This is not the resumption of a particular dialogue mechanism or the beginning of a dialogue process.\u00a0 This is very much about sitting down, getting an understanding of each other, and then taking that back and taking stock.\u00a0 Many of you know that we are in the middle of a pretty extensive China strategy development process, and the inputs that we\u2019re getting from our allies and partners are really core to that understanding where we have some opportunities to work together and where we can best build shared leverage.\u00a0 But in putting where our Chinese interlocutors are at as well, what we will hear from Yang Jiechi and Wang Yi in this conversation will be important to informing where we go in our China strategy going forward.\u00a0 And so we think it\u2019s really important to get that.<\/p>\n

I also want to underscore one point, which I know that this is a little bit of a unique configuration.\u00a0 We\u2019ve not had the national security advisor and secretary of state meet together with their Chinese interlocutors previously, and we actually think that this is really important, not just in terms of something for show; but rather, we\u2019ve seen a track record from China in the past of attempting to try to play favorites within an administration and, in particular, to play the secretary of state and national security advisor off each other.\u00a0 I\u2019ve worked on China at both the State Department and the NSC previously, and I\u2019ve seen this in action.\u00a0 And we felt it was really important to underscore from the get-go that this administration is unified and coordinated when it comes to China policy, and that the President\u2019s two closest foreign policy and national security advisors were going to be sitting down together to have this conversation, that there is not going to be daylight, and that the games that China has played in the past to divide us or attempt to divide us are simply not going to work here.\u00a0 And so this is a very deliberate and visual demonstration of that from the get-go that we think is really important for helping to inform and shape how China seeks to engage with us.<\/p>\n

The last thing I would say before turning it over to is that I know there is a lot of questions from folks about whether we\u2019re\u00a0going to get into detail of negotiating some of the specific issues that are outstanding in the U.S.-China relationship.\u00a0 And our own view is that we\u2019re simply not there yet.\u00a0 We need to have more detailed conversations with our allies and partners, that it\u2019s really important that we take this deliberate time to understand actually sort of what the landscape is and how to best position the United States for success in this competition.\u00a0 And that means getting inputs from a variety of places and putting it in a hopper and understanding actually what\u2019s going to give us the best hand.<\/p>\n

And so the conversation in Anchorage is really going to be at that broader strategic level, where we will touch on some specific issues but aren\u2019t expecting to come out with specific negotiated deliverables that will answer the questions.\u00a0 Rather, this is just the beginning of that process.<\/p>\n

So with that, let me hand it over to my colleague over at the State Department.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you so much, .\u00a0 Let me just point out, as you \u2013 mentioned all the great diplomacy that is happening all over the world but particularly here in the East Asia region.\u00a0 As folks probably are tracking, Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin had superb meetings with their Japanese counterparts yesterday and today the team is looking forward to a full day of engagement with our Korean counterparts.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s worth pointing out that we\u2019re receiving extraordinary hospitality from these two allies of ours in the midst of a pandemic, which I think really goes quite a ways to showing how important these alliances are.\u00a0 And of course, the fact that these are the first overseas trips by Biden Cabinet officials I think also makes very clear the point that was making earlier about how much we\u2019re focusing on conversations and getting ourselves aligned with our partners and allies.<\/p>\n

I think did a great job of laying out what we expect to get out of Anchorage.\u00a0 The only point I would add on that is the \u2013 Beijing has been talking about its desire to change the tone of the relationship, and of course, we\u2019re going to be looking at deeds, not words on that front.\u00a0 And we\u2019re of course coming to these discussions with a very clear-eyed view about the PRC\u2019s pretty poor track record of keeping its promises.<\/p>\n

So with that, I\u2019m happy to turn it over, , for Qs and As.\u00a0 Thanks.<\/p>\n

MODERATOR:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thanks very much, everyone.\u00a0 Operator, if you could please open the lines for our first question.<\/p>\n

OPERATOR:<\/strong>\u00a0 Absolutely.\u00a0 Ladies and gentlemen, if you do have questions, press 1 then 0 on your touch tone phone.\u00a0 You\u2019ll hear an indication that you\u2019ve been placed into queue, and you may remove yourself from queue by repeating the 1 then 0 command.\u00a0 If you\u2019re using a speaker phone, please pick up your handset before pressing any buttons and make certain your phone is unmuted before asking your question.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll go first to the line of Nick Schifrin with PBS.\u00a0 Go ahead, please.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0 Hey, .\u00a0 Hey, .\u00a0 Thank you for doing this.\u00a0 Two questions.\u00a0 The last time the U.S. met Yang Jiechi, the administration asked that there would be no follow-on meetings specifically until there was a behavior change from Beijing.\u00a0 Is that the same approach that you\u2019re taking?\u00a0 And a 30,000-foot question:\u00a0 Do you believe that Xi Jinping is willing to change his behavior based on U.S. pressure?\u00a0 Thanks.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE:<\/strong>\u00a0 Hi, operator, are you there?\u00a0 I think we might have muted the speaker.<\/p>\n

OPERATOR:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, we\u2019ll go \u2014<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m \u2013 oh, I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 That was me muting myself.\u00a0 I apologize.<\/p>\n

OPERATOR:<\/strong>\u00a0 No worries.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE:<\/strong>\u00a0 (Laughter.)\u00a0 Nick, I was giving you a great answer there.\u00a0 Great to hear from you.\u00a0 So on your question, what I would say is that as just made clear, we believe particularly as Beijing is professing an interest in a change in tone in the relationship, what we\u2019re looking for is deed more than word.\u00a0 I think said that exactly right.\u00a0 And that, of course, does mean that we\u2019re going to lay down some specific areas where we believe that Beijing does need to take some steps to change course.\u00a0 And you\u2019ve probably seen some comments specifically about China\u2019s economic coercion in some of our allies, including Australia, that we do believe need to change before we can take substantial steps forward in the relationship.\u00a0 And so that is absolutely one of the factors that we are looking at here as we map out the way forward, but I agree with \u2019s point on being very clear-eyed and realistic\u00a0about what that might mean.<\/p>\n

OPERATOR:<\/strong>\u00a0 We will go next to the line of Christina Ruffini with CBS News.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0 Hi, everybody.\u00a0 Greetings from Japan.\u00a0 I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about how this meeting came about \u2013 who reached out to whom, who initiated it, how the venue was chosen, and what kind of format we\u2019re going to see in Anchorage.\u00a0 Thanks so much.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Hey, thanks for the question.\u00a0 So what I would say is that the U.S. felt that, number one, the timing of the meeting needed to occur after we had taken some of those steps to really strengthen ourselves that I laid out at the top \u2013 domestic renewal and reinvestment and some substantial engagement with allies and partners \u2013 and that it was very important to us that we had some of that work meaningfully underway before we had an engagement with our Chinese interlocutors at a senior level.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve made clear to them from the get-go that the lines of communication are open.\u00a0 We think that\u2019s important.\u00a0 But again, in terms of a high-level meeting, that that needed to wait until we had some of those other steps in motion.<\/p>\n

The other thing I\u2019d say is that we also felt it was really important that we host the meeting on U.S. soil.\u00a0 We just felt for a variety of reasons that being on our own territory was extremely important for this meeting and of not attempting to meet in China.\u00a0 And so that\u2019s \u2013 and then I guess the last piece of it is in terms of the venue.\u00a0 A lot of it was sort of practicality involving travel and COVID protocols and challenges of meeting in different places, and so we sort of landed here for a variety of reasons, but that\u2019s kind of how we ended up with that.<\/p>\n

But I do just want to underscore the point again of feeling very important, and I think Jen Psaki had said this from the podium previously, of actually hosting on U.S. soil as a key piece of this.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if wants to add anything on that.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yeah, thanks, .\u00a0 You hit the point about the way the travel arrangements worked out.\u00a0 So, of course, Secretary Blinken and company will be traveling back from Korea and then \u2013 and Alaska makes a pretty good midpoint stop.\u00a0 And clearly, the fact that Director Yang is willing to come out to the States again, I think that we certainly welcome that.\u00a0 He made two visits in the last years of the previous administration.\u00a0 I think he was both in New York and in Honolulu, so happy that we\u2019ll be able to welcome him to Alaska.\u00a0 Over.<\/p>\n

OPERATOR:<\/strong>\u00a0 We will go next to Owen Churchill with the\u00a0South China Morning Post<\/em>.\u00a0 Go ahead, please.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0 Hi there.\u00a0 Can you hear me?<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yep.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0 Great, thanks so much for doing this.\u00a0 A couple of quick questions.\u00a0 Just a broad one first about how you would characterize success and failure, respectively, when it comes to your expectations for this meeting.\u00a0 And then a second question about logistics:\u00a0 Are you anticipating releasing a joint statement after this, or would there be separate readouts from either side?\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE:<\/strong>\u00a0 There will not be a joint statement.\u00a0 I\u2019m happy to take that one first.\u00a0 I guess in terms of the question of what does success look like, I want to situate this again in terms of a process.\u00a0 And I recognize that that is not necessarily the glitziest of a headline, but we really see this meeting, again, as both part of the broad Indo-Pacific diplomatic work underway and very much one piece of a continued ongoing \u2013 and there will be more to come after this, right?<\/p>\n

And so I see this as being one data point in that overarching strategy and approach that we are running right now, and so I think the \u2013 frankly, a failure would be if somehow this meeting were to be seen to somehow be divorced from that overall strategy.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why I think it\u2019s really important for us that these conversations be situated \u2013 by the way, including the conversations we will have in the room in Anchorage \u2013 will be situated in what we are trying to achieve in our broader priorities across this administration.<\/p>\n

And so for us, our China strategy fits within our broader Indo-Pacific Strategy, sits within our broader approach to national security.\u00a0 And you could see that in the Interim Strategic Guidance document that the administration released a couple weeks ago.\u00a0 And so I think that\u2019s a really critical piece of this.<\/p>\n

And I think success \u2013 again, put this really well, so I just \u2013 I\u2019m going to just keep quoting him back here, which is this is about understanding will there actually be any change indeed, but I think our expectations are really realistic there.\u00a0 And so for me, that\u2019s not necessarily where my focus is going to be.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be much more understanding over time how do we \u2013 how do we shape that behavior change that we\u2019re trying to seek.\u00a0 probably has other even more insightful thoughts on this.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO:<\/strong>\u00a0 Hey, don\u2019t raise the bar on me like that, .\u00a0 No, actually, I would say, look, success \u2013 , you said it up front.\u00a0 I mean, we don\u2019t have any unrealistic expectations for sure, but we do think it\u2019s an opening to open up these lines of communication and for our principals to be very, very blunt with their principals about the long list of concerns, quite a few of which ticked off at the top.\u00a0 We don\u2019t want them to be operating under illusions about our tough-minded approach to their very problematic behavior.\u00a0 And on the other hand, of course, it\u2019s an opportunity for our guys to hear from them.\u00a0 So without raising expectations unduly, I think we\u2019re looking to have a nice, robust, and very frank conversation with a power that is going to be a major competitor of ours.\u00a0 So it\u2019s good that we\u2019re opening up these channels of communication.\u00a0 Over.<\/p>\n

OPERATOR:<\/strong>\u00a0 We\u2019ll go to the line of Lara Jakes with\u00a0New York Times<\/em>.\u00a0 Go ahead, please.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0 Hi, good morning from Japan.\u00a0 It\u2019s a beautiful day here.\u00a0 I wanted to pick up on what you just said, .\u00a0 And I\u2019m wondering, as the United States\u2019 principals are just as blunt about your expectations, what happens if the Chinese come to the table and they are just as blunt about their expectations?\u00a0 They\u2019ve been very clear in saying the United States should not be meddling in what they see as internal issues for China.\u00a0 What does that portend for the future of the relationship if they come to the table and they say, no, these are our principles, and we don\u2019t expect to move from that?<\/p>\n

And then also, , I was wondering if you could just very quickly elaborate a little bit on what you said about how this may be the first time that a secretary of state and a national security advisor have sat down jointly with their Chinese counterparts.\u00a0 Are you making reference to the previous administration or to the Obama administration or going back to the Bush administration?\u00a0 How far back does that go?\u00a0 Thank you so much.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Guess I\u2019ll try the first part there.\u00a0 Look, Secretary Blinken has said that the relationship with China, we \u2013 it\u2019s going to be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be, and adversarial when it must be.\u00a0 And if we get to issues where we just have very different views, it\u2019ll be good to \u2013 it\u2019ll be good for both sides to hear one another out.<\/p>\n

But our view is, listen, we\u2019re not asking the PRC to do anything other than abide by the international rules of the road, to honor its obligations, and to take \u2013 as said, take actions consonant with their words.\u00a0 They talk about being a responsible champion of the multilateral system, but their deeds fall far short of that in many, many respects.<\/p>\n

So yeah, clearly, if we happen to have some serious disagreements in Anchorage, I\u2019m not very confident that we\u2019re going to be able to persuade the Chinese of the error of their ways and the righteousness of ours just over the course of a couple of hours\u2019 worth of talks.\u00a0 But I think it is important that each side know where the other does stand.\u00a0 Over.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Yeah, I think put that really well.\u00a0 The only thing I would just add on that point is that many of the things that China professes are internal matters of concern are of concern to a great number of countries, not just the United States.\u00a0 And so we see these not just as issues in the bilateral context, but as issues of global concern, and in some cases, growing global concern.\u00a0 We see that in particular on Xinjiang.\u00a0 We see that on Hong Kong, where you\u2019re seeing mounting not only condemnation but action by a number of countries to really make clear that China\u2019s violation of international rules, norms, and universal values does have consequences for its relationships and its engagements with other countries.<\/p>\n

On the history, I think we\u2019d have to actually take that and get back to you on that, in terms of has a national security advisor and secretary of state ever sat in the room together.\u00a0 My point is largely in terms of a meeting like this, a standalone meeting like this where there is this kind of configuration.\u00a0 We\u2019d have to go back and check if there\u2019s ever been a previous instance where one or the other joined them in a meeting in Washington, D.C. or something like that.<\/p>\n

OPERATOR:<\/strong>\u00a0 We will go to the line of Andrea Mitchell from NBC.\u00a0 One moment, please, while we open your line.\u00a0 Your line is open.\u00a0 Go ahead, please.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0 When you said you were going to raise \u2013 when you said you were going to raise all these issues, can you highlight what you think are the most critical issues that you definitely plan to raise?\u00a0 And what role will the cyber issue and Microsoft play in any expectations of actions, impending actions against China?<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thanks, Andrea.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to confess that I don\u2019t want to give the Chinese our whole playbook in advance.\u00a0 So I\u2019m going to save some of the answers of the most important issues that we plan to raise until we can read out things to you guys afterwards.\u00a0 I hope you\u2019ll be understanding of that.\u00a0 But obviously, some of the pieces that I mentioned earlier \u2013 Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, economic coercion of allies that you\u2019re well familiar with, our concerns about China\u2019s actions to impinge on freedom of navigation \u2013 it\u2019s taking increasingly aggressive actions with respect to some of those spaces as well, but of course we have concerns about \u2013 in the technology space, in the economic space.\u00a0 So \u2013 but we will in our readouts afterwards be able to give you a little bit more of a prioritized sense and a little bit more on maybe the nature of how we\u2019ve raised those things when we\u2019re not going to be tipping our hand quite so much.<\/p>\n

But cyber is absolutely an issue that we plan to discuss.\u00a0 Our U.S. concerns about Beijing\u2019s malicious cyber activity is not new, but it\u2019s a continued and ongoing concern and reports about recent activity only heighten that.\u00a0 And so this is definitely an issue where I think that we will be making a very clear point about our concerns and I think we\u2019ll have more for you, again, on that after the \u2013 after the meeting.<\/p>\n

OPERATOR:<\/strong>\u00a0 For our last question we will go to Paris Huang with Voice of America.\u00a0 Go ahead.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0 Hi, can you hear me?<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE:<\/strong>\u00a0 Mm-hmm.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

QUESTION:<\/strong>\u00a0 So, yes, thank you for doing this.\u00a0 My question is you talked about before this meeting, United States had talked with allies and partners in Asia and Europe.\u00a0 So where do you see Russia\u2019s role play in the United States and China relationship?<\/p>\n

And also, China have influence over Africa and Latin America as well; for example, the One Belt and One Road Initiative has extended over there as well.\u00a0 Did the United States talk to the countries over there before this meeting?\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m going to defer \u2013 those are largely, I think, areas.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t I defer to on that.<\/p>\n

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO:<\/strong>\u00a0 Sure, that\u2019s a great question.\u00a0 Thanks very much.\u00a0 And yes, look, the State Department is absolutely practicing the same diplomatic outreach that was referring to with our partners and allies across the globe.\u00a0 We have been in very, very close contact with capitals in Latin American and Africa, Central and Southeast Asia about all of our common agenda, whether it\u2019s things like addressing the COVID pandemic, climate, and, of course, resisting coercion and aggressive behavior by powers like China and Russia.\u00a0 So those conversations are global in scope.<\/p>\n

You asked about in particular the role of Russia vis-a-vis China.\u00a0 I mean, neither nor I are Russia experts, but I would say to our colleagues that do cover Russia, in many ways I think Russia poses a similar set of challenges, perhaps not quite on the same scope and scale that China does, but ones that we feel the best way to push back on is by making a common cause, again, with our close allies and partners and making sure that we\u2019re holding them accountable when they take actions that run counter to sort of the international rules of the road, the international system that for seven or eight decades now has helped enable the entire planet to enjoy great levels of peace and prosperity.\u00a0 So I think probably a question that our Europe colleagues could answer in more detail, but I think the same general approach.\u00a0 Thanks.\u00a0 Over.<\/p>\n

MODERATOR:<\/strong>\u00a0 Great.\u00a0 Thanks, everyone, for joining us tonight, and for our friends in Asia, have a good morning.\u00a0 Reminder, again, we are on background, attributed to senior administration officials, and with the conclusion of this call, the embargo is lifted.\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n

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