Washington, May 16 (EFE).- The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, pointed out this Tuesday that his country suffers a “disadvantage” compared to China because it has fewer ambassadors, for which he urged the Senate to ratify as soon as possible the diplomats that remain pending appointment.
“We know that China is active on all continents, seeking to expand its influence. If we are not there, we cannot compete,” said the leader of US diplomacy in an appearance before a committee of the Upper House on the strategy of the Joe Biden government towards Beijing.
Blinken remarked that China not only has more diplomatic missions in the world than the United States, 180 against 173, but that in all its legations there is an accredited holder.
Instead, there are 14 Biden-nominated ambassadors awaiting Senate ratification, some of whom have been waiting for more than a year, and one quarantine is in other phases of the process.
“So we are acting at a disadvantage. China is not only present in more places, but it has fully accredited ambassadors in each of them and that makes a difference,” she said.
According to Blinken, foreign leaders are much more reluctant to associate and compromise with interim officials than with accredited ambassadors.
“This creates a vacuum and guess who fills this vacuum: China. Therefore, we are doing ourselves a disservice if we don’t fill the positions as quickly as possible. This is not a serious way to compete,” he chided.
