US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Thursday claimed that the history of the 21st century would revolve around relations between US and China, and also described the country as grave threat to America’s national security.
In his first interview as secretary of state under Donald Trump’s administration, Rubio told The Megyn Kelly Show, that not engaging with China would be “absurd” and criticised past US foreign policies that treated China as a developing country instead of the rich and powerful nation it is.
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“The history of the 21st century will largely be about what happened between the US and China,” , a news agency PTI report quoted Rubio as saying.
Marco Rubio added that, “China wants to be the most powerful country in the world and they want to do so at our expense, and that’s not in our national interest, and we’re going to address it. We don’t want a war over it, but we’re going to address it.”
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Marco Rubio also stated that China perceived itself to become the world’s greatest power by 2035 or 2050 and that past American leadership had also cemented the idea of the US growing weaker for China.
Panama Canal
Marco Rubio also spoke about control over the Panama Canal, an issue that President Trump had addressed in his inaugural speech and had vowed to take back the control of the waterway from China.
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The US secretary of state said that any foreign power having complete control of the canal would be an issue, however, China’s control especially cannot be allowed to continue.
“Hong Kong-based companies having control over the entry and exit points of the canal is completely unacceptable,” he said.
Marco Rubio also issued a warning that in case of conflict, China could completely block the canal, restricting US trade, commerce, and the deployment of its military.
In line with President Donald Trump’s speech, Marco Rubio also said that since the US built the Panama Canal, they should not be paying high rates for passage and if nothing else, deserved free or discounted entry into the waterway.
