In a jibe at President Joe Biden-led administration’s effort to meet Xi Jinping, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said the U.S. should stop chasing Chinese officials like "lovestruck teenagers."
What Happened: Cotton, in an interview with Fox News, said, "Biden administration officials should stop chasing after their Chinese communist counterparts like lovestruck teenagers. It's embarrassing and it's pathetic."
The senator was responding to a question about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's recent visit to Singapore, where he met his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu. Despite China previously refusing a meeting request during the defense and security forum, Austin and Shangfu were seen shaking hands at a dinner on Friday, signaling a surprising turn of events.
The handshake and the meeting request were both parts of a U.S. effort to smooth recently boiling tensions between the two countries over Taiwan, human rights violations, trade and many other areas. However, Cotton argued that those efforts "project weakness to China."
"It encourages them to do things like buzz our aircraft or come within a few hundred yards of our ships. It encourages them to send spy balloons floating all across America," he said.
Why It Matters: In recent years, tensions between the U.S. and China have increased amid Biden’s support for Taiwan. As per a recent report, President Biden‘s administration is pushing for a series of meetings and phone calls to make it harder for Beijing to refuse engagement. The U.S. strategy aims to ease tensions with China and label President Xi as a recalcitrant if he declines.
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