Amid US-China rivalry, Washington takes aim at allies who avoid choosing sides, observers say
- Blinken’s remarks at recent Munich conference – that one is either at the table or on the menu – are ‘zero-sum game mentality’, Chinese tabloid says
- Comments were meant as a call for solidarity to US allies, especially in Europe, and did not target Beijing directly, experts say
Asked whether the United States was being challenged for alliances as US-China tensions led to greater fragmentation, Blinken said “if you’re not at the table in the international system, you’re going to be on the menu”, adding that Washington had “re-engaged multilaterally”.
Experts said the remarks were meant as a call for solidarity to US allies, especially European countries, and did not target Beijing directly. However, the comments drew strong backlash from Chinese state media for amounting to a “zero-sum game mentality”.
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Lu Xiang, a senior researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Blinken’s remarks were aimed at encouraging the alliance’s solidarity amid an unprecedented US-China global rivalry.
“Blinken’s emphasis was on the solidarity of his allies, meaning that if [they] allied with the United States, they would not become someone else’s ‘meal’,” he said.
“At the same time, he is appeasing his allies, most of whom fear that if tensions continue between the US and China, they will be involved in an irreversible scenario.”