Antony Blinken first met Tsai Ing-wen when she visited US as presidential candidate in 2015
Taiwan News
Date: 2020/11/23
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
Then-deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken speaks during a press briefing at the White House on July 28, 2014. (AP photo)
On Monday (Nov. 23), multiple media outlets including Associated Press reported that Biden will nominate Antony Blinken to serve as secretary of state, with the announcement of his appointment expected to be made on Tuesday (Nov. 24). As secretary of state, Blinken will seek to use a multilateral approach to counter China while continuing to strengthen ties with Taiwan.
Blinken, 58, formerly served as deputy secretary of state under former President Barack Obama and is a senior foreign policy advisor to Biden, with 35 years of experience in the foreign service. During an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 22, Blinken said that it would be unrealistic for the U.S. to "fully decouple" from China, but he suggested Biden should seek to rebuild alliances and set international technology standards.
He asserted that Biden should work on strengthening America's competitiveness to better counter Beijing. Blinken characterized Phase 1 of President Donald Trump's trade deal with China as "a debacle" since it failed to address systemic issues between the two countries. [FULL STORY]
