Blinken says international community seeks responsible US-China relationship

By Tony Czuczka

SECRETARY of State Antony

Blinken said the rest of the world is eager to see a responsibly managed US-Chinese relationship and he urged China to do its part.

Blinken’s comment on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS hints at concern among America’s allies, including in Europe, that US efforts to counter China militarily and economically are forcing them to choose sides in a new Cold War.

“There’s a clear demand signal that I’m hearing around the world everywhere I go that each of us, the United States and China, will responsibly manage this relationship,” Blinken said in the interview broadcast Sunday.

Blinken cited a recent flurry of engagement by top Biden administration officials, including visits to Beijing by himself, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and climate envoy John Kerry, as a sign that the US is “trying to at least put some stability” into the relationship between the two biggest economies.

During her visit, Yellen said there’s “ample room” for trade and investment while saying the US won’t shy away from “targeted actions to protect our national security”—a reference to measures such as limits on exports of advanced chip-making technology to China.

Her visit was part of a broader push by President Joe Biden’s administration to mend relations with America’s main geopolitical rival while also sending clear messages about US policy.

Blinken said “these are early days” in the search for a greater US-China dialogue.

The “demand signal” for China of checks and balances and push Israel toward authoritarian rule.

President Herzog, who returned Sunday from a trip to the White House, immediately rushed to Netanyahu’s hospital room.

“We are in a state of national emergency,” Herzog said in a statement Monday, saying he was continuing efforts to find an agreement. “During these decisive hours, I call on elected officials to act with courage, and to reach out in order to arrive at understanding.”

Herzog held meetings later Sunday with Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, and Benny Gantz, head of National Unity, another opposition party.

As they spoke, tens of thousands of people gathered for mass rallies for and against the plan. Netanyahu’s supporters thronged central Tel Aviv—normally the setting for anti-government protests—while his opponents marched on Israel’s Knesset, or parliament.

Many of the protesters in Jerusalem had camped out in a nearby park, after completing a four-day march into the city from Tel Aviv on Saturday.

Further ratcheting up the pressure on the Israeli leader, thousands of military reservists have been declaring their refusal to serve under a government taking steps that they see as setting the country on a path to dictatorship. Those moves have prompted fears that the military’s preparedness could be compromised.

“These are dangerous cracks,” military chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi wrote in a letter to soldiers Sunday meant to address the tensions. “If we will not be a strong and cohesive military, if the best do not serve in the IDF, we will no longer be able to exist as a country in the region.”

Despite the attempts to project business as usual, Netanyahu’s schedule was disrupted by his hospitalization. His weekly Cabinet meeting scheduled for Sunday morning was postponed. Two upcoming overseas trips, to Cyprus and Turkey, were being rescheduled, his office said.

In Monday’s vote, legislators are to decide on an overhaul measure that would prevent judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are “unreasonable.”

Proponents say the current “reasonability” standard gives judges excessive powers over decision-making by elected officials. Critics say removing it would allow the government to pass arbitrary decisions, make improper appointments or firings and open the door to corruption.

Protesters, who come from a wide swath of Israeli society, see the overhaul as a power grab fueled by personal and political grievances of Netanyahu—who is on trial for corruption charges—and his partners who want to deepen Israel’s control of the occupied West Bank and perpetuate controversial draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men.

Netanyahu and his far-right allies announced the overhaul plan in January, days after taking office.

Netanyahu paused the overhaul in March after intense pressure by protesters and labor strikes that halted outgoing flights and shut down parts of the economy. After talks to find a compromise failed last month, he said his government was pressing on with the overhaul.

G oldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.