The Trump administration has taken office facing several major foreign policy challenges, starting with the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war. But the trickiest of all is the growing alliance between Russia and China, which accelerated under the Biden administration. Trump's challenge is not unlike that of President Richard Nixon, who successfully prevented a China-Soviet Union alliance at the height of the Cold War.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently discussed this challenge a part of an exclusive interview with Breitbart News. "The big story of the 21st Century is going to be U.S.-Chinese relations," says Rubio. "And if Russia becomes a permanent junior partner to China in the long term, well now you're talking about two nuclear powers aligned against the United States."
"We could find ourselves in a situation down the road where, whether Russia wants to improve its relations with the U.S. or not, they can't because they've become completely dependent on the Chinese," Rubio continues.
The Trump administration has already begun reducing China's influence overseas. Rubio's first trip after taking office was to Panama, where they agreed to withdraw from China's Belt and Road Initiative. That initiative was being used to exert Chinese control over the Panama Canal.
Separating nations like Panama from China is one thing, but separating China from Russia will require more delicate diplomacy with both nations. "Look, we're going to have competition and even potential direct confrontation---not militarily, I hope, but otherwise---with the Chinese, because they're doing all kinds of cheating and stealing when it comes to trade and economics," says Rubio. "And we're going to have disagreements with the Russians."
"But we have to have a relationship with both," he continues. "These are big, powerful countries with nuclear stockpiles and large militaries that can project power globally...and I think we have lost the concept of maturity and sanity in diplomatic relations."
Photo: AFP