*…China is expanding and the US seems to be retreating
Simon Ateba is Publisher and White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. In a mailing to The DEFENDER, he bares his mind about the warning by Washington saying, “U.S. warns China is international order biggest threat that must be confronted to save the world. But as I interact with US State Department, I see maximum inefficiency and self-inflicted wounds”. Excerpts:
But first, as you may know by now, we are in mourning here in the United States. An 18-year old gunman stormed a school earlier this week in Texas and massacred 19 children and two teachers in their classroom while cops waited outside the school for more than an hour before taking him down.
That massacre has shocked the country and re-ignited the debate over gun violence in a country where there are more guns in circulation than people. Those innocent students were just part of a daily carnage here in the United States where dozens of Blacks for instance are killed daily, shot dead by mainly other Blacks, as they struggle for scarce resources in an environment that has been abandoned by the country.
The United State government on Thursday described China as ‘the most serious long-term challenge’ to an international order that helped the Asian nation go from ‘widespread poverty and hunger’ to ‘prosperity’, and must now be confronted, even as the world unites against Russia, the second most dangerous challenge in the world.
Speaking at the George Washington University in Washington D.C., the United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken unveiled what he described as the Biden administration’s strategy towards the People’s Republic of China. That strategy, he asserted, can be summed up in three words – “invest, align, compete.
Blinken clarified that the United States does not intend to block Beijing or oppose its rise, but warned that a rising power that is undermining human rights, and spreading oppression via technology should be confronted head-on.
As I listened to Secretary Blinken yesterday, my mind turned back to Today News Africa, a publication that focuses on highlighting U.S.-Africa ties and interactions, but which had to overcome many challenges from the Biden administration.
As a publication, we are not opposed to China or any nation, our focus is simply to highlight ties between the United States and Africa.
It is therefore often shocking that it has been very difficult to find one senior administration official who can go on the record to detail what Biden has achieved when it comes to US-Africa ties.
This is mainly because many people at the State Department do not read and do not have access to publications that cover them if they are using a paywall. Officials often reach out to publications, pleading to lift the paywall to get access to content, a troubling and shameful development.
I have personally observed that many officials focus only on dumping out what the administration would like them to spread, but they do not take feedback and do not build genuine relationships with the people on their beat, including with journalists, activists, creators, influencers and other stakeholders.
As a result, China is expanding and the US seems to be retreating.
