U.S. Official's Blunt Message to China

As the U.S. seeks common ground with China in an era of great power competition, the most important thing is to "make clear and to demonstrate to the Chinese that we still have staying power," national security official Kurt Campbell said Monday.

The U.S. must also show it's still the world's preeminent superpower and is committed to its "larger purpose in the Indo-Pacific," he said.

The Asia czar, whom President Joe Biden recently nominated as deputy secretary of state, delivered the remarks during an interview for the Atlantic Council think tank's new series "So What's the Strategy for China?" He was joined by Representative Mike Gallagher, chair of the House Select Committee on China, and British Ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce.

Asked about the Biden administration's China strategy, Campbell called it "broad" and "multifaceted."

To be effective, the U.S. must invest seriously in technologies like semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, synthetic biology, 5G and 6G, and robotics, he said.

Campbell stressed that Washington cannot go it alone.

The view that Washington "is a power in hurtling decline" has gained wide currency in President Xi Jinping's China. Feeling its moment has come, the world's second-largest economy has embarked on pressure campaigns against U.S. allies and partners, Campbell said.

The American strategy also relies on a network of these partnerships. Contrary to Chinese Communist Party propaganda, the goal is not to contain China but to empower countries in the region that are under pressure from their powerful neighbor.

The U.S. and other G7 member states have been signaling strong support for the Philippines, which faces regular antagonistic activity by the Chinese coast guard in the South China Sea. Washington has also joined Canada, the Philippines and other countries in denouncing unsafe Chinese military approaches in international airspace and waters.

The Biden administration aims to "make it clear we're not going anywhere. The U.S. is "an Asian power, an Indo-Pacific power, and we're going to behave as such," he vowed.

Campbell cited the U.S.-U.K.-Australia security arrangement AUKUS and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue shared by the U.S., Australia, Japan and India as successful examples of this cooperation.

He said these strategic elements must be combined with a "careful, purposeful diplomacy" with Beijing that pinpoints both areas of potential cooperation and of concern in order to avert miscalculations.

The Atlantic Council discussion was aired as the White House entered talks on nuclear arms control with China, which is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal and capabilities.

Both countries have dispatched high-level officials to each other's capitals to pave the way for Biden and Xi to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco, California, next week.