Blinken tells NATO allies they don’t need to choose US or China

In speech, Blinken tells his European counterparts US won’t force allies into an ‘us-or-them’ choice on China.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NATO allies that China is a threat to the West but that the US will not force anyone to choose sides between Washington and Beijing. Blinken has been meeting with his European counterparts in Brussels during his first trip to Europe as Secretary of State. China, Russia, the Iran nuclear deal and a May 1 deadline for US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan, where NATO forces remain, have loomed large over the two days of meetings. In remarks Wednesday at NATO headquarters, Blinken said that the US “won’t force allies into an ‘us-or-them’ choice with China”, even as the Biden administration continues to portray Beijing’s military and economic assertiveness as one of the biggest threats to global stability.