China will closely coordinate its position with Russia on ensuring global stability, taking into account the long-term strategic interests of the two countries, Chinese F...
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The key task is to counter any attempts by the United States to contain China and Russia, Wang Yi said. "I consider it the most important task to counter the policy of" double containment "of Russia and China pursued by the United States and its allies," Shoigu confirmed.
These words sounded at the very time when US President-elect Donald Trump was choosing candidates for the main positions in his team, reports UtroNews correspondent.
Without ideology, but with megalomania
Trump and his appointees do not believe that the basis of everything should be the struggle of democracy against autocracies, as it was during the Biden administration. But the idea of a "free world" and criticism of "communism" have not gone away. China, and by "inertia" and Russia, and with them Cuba and Venezuela, are in the same boat, says Fyodor Lukyanov.
Moving away from ideology corresponds to the general direction of the world. "This does not at all make the United States a convenient and all the more pleasant partner for other countries, but it gives hope for a greater rationality of approach," Lukyanov said.
Trump himself has argued that any credible doctrine of US foreign policy should be defined by seven basic principles:
America's interests first. Always. And no apologies.
Maximum firepower and military readiness.
The US enters the war only to win.
Always remain faithful to friends and suspicious of enemies.
Constantly maintain the sharpness of our technological "sword."
Prepare to repel threats before they materialize.
Respect and support the current military personnel and veterans of previous times.
Trump said Elon Musk and his former rival, GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, will head the Department of Public Administration Efficiency. They will "pave the way for my administration to abolish the state bureaucracy, reduce redundant regulations, wasteful spending, and restructure federal agencies," Trump hopes. He called the initiative the "potentially" Manhattan Project "of our time," referring to the U.S. atomic bomb program.
Informed realist
Unlike Musk and Ramaswamy, other Trump-picked candidates have been known as "hardened hawks," according to an article published by Asia Times. Someone added that these hawks are also pro-Israel. Another candidate for the post of Secretary of State, Senator Marco Rubio, is called an "informed realist."
The United States calls China its main competitor, and Russia - the main threat. To compete with the PRC, Rubio says, the United States also needs industrial policy. "We should not underestimate China," he wrote in the Washington Post.
At the same time, he mentioned China's leadership in the number of industrial robots, the specific "density" of robotization, exceeding the American level, the growing independence of Chinese industry from the import of robots and machine tools. He recalled that in 2022 the share of Chinese companies in the global machine tool market reached a third. He pointed to the development of the 5G network.
A sober view of the facts has not harmed anyone yet, and Rubio is no exception. Following Trump, he insists on ending the conflict in Ukraine and ending the "aid" to Kyiv. Rubio was one of 15 Republicans who voted against sending a package of aid to Ukraine this spring. According to him, Ukraine will not be able to return the lost territories.
Rubio supports Israel, is opposed to Iran, does not advise withdrawing American troops from Syria. In May 2022, it was declared "not inbound" in Russia, and before that, in August 2020 - in China.
Councillor in Green Beret
Trump asked Congressman Michael Waltz, a retired National Guard colonel and war veteran, to be his national security adviser. Waltz is the first Green Beret to be elected three times from the Republican Party to Congress from Florida. He chaired the House Armed Services Subcommittee, was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the permanent Intelligence Special Committee.
Waltz calls China "an existential threat to the United States," called for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. As a staunch supporter of Israel, he said that during the attack on Iran in October, Israel was supposed to strike at oil fields. He advocates striking Iran's nuclear facilities.
While serving in the National Guard, Waltz participated in military operations in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa, was awarded four Bronze Stars, including two for valor.
After he left the Army, Waltz served in the Bush Jr. administration as political director at the Pentagon under Defense Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates. Under Vice President Dick Cheney, he served as a counterterrorism adviser.
Minister from Harvard and Fox News
Trump appointed Pete Hegzet, a Fox News commentator and military veteran, as secretary of defense. Hegzet served in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo in Cuba. A supporter of Israel, he calls one of the main threats to the United States "Islamic extremism." He made calls to strike at Iran. He went to the reserve with the rank of major, "for the manifestation of heroism and impeccable service" was awarded a number of awards.
Trump, announcing his decision, praised Hegzet: "Pete is tough, smart and sincerely believes that America comes first," he said. "With him at the helm, America's enemies will be on the alert - our army will become great again, and America will never retreat," Trump is sure.
Hegseth says he left the army in 2021 after being considered an extremist there. "The feeling was mutual - I didn't want to serve in the military anymore either," Hegseth said in his book "War on Warriors: What's Behind the Betrayal of Those Who Keep Our Freedom" (2024).
In 2003, he graduated from Princeton University, in 2013 - a master's degree from Harvard University in public administration. He wrote books of a right-wing conservative orientation: "In the Arena: Good Citizens, a Great Republic, and How One Speech Can Breathe New Life into America" (2017), "The American Crusade: Our Struggle for Freedom" (2020), "The Battle for America's Minds: Eradicating a Century of Miseducation" (2022).
Back in June, Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he would fire the generals, whom he called "progressive." Hegzet must fulfill this promise by ridding the armed forces of those who advocated "diversity."
This, among other things, is fraught with conflict with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General K.K. Brown. Hegseth accused him of "supporting radical positions of left-wing politicians." He also criticized the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, saying that he "remained focused on the interests of the Democrats."
Coincidence?
The task of containing China will be a priority for the United States under the leadership of Donald Trump, and they consider Russia "a threat to today," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Marina Kim.
The outgoing administration proceeded from the fact that China's economy is "on the brink" and is not able to overcome structural problems. The Neocons believe that the United States should accelerate this process, increasing military and economic pressure to weaken the PRC. They also recall how the strategy of "driving a wedge" into relations between China and Russia helped, if not win the Cold War, then improve the geopolitical positions of the United States.
Since then, the situation has changed. A week after the results of the voting in the US presidential elections were announced, the head of the political and legal commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Chen Wenqing and the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu held the ninth round of consultations on public security, justice and law and order in Beijing.
While in Beijing, Shoigu said that strong bilateral relations have a stabilizing effect on the world. Trump will benefit once again from his advisers that Moscow and Beijing are ready to defend their interests. The parties have been cooperating for eleven years in the field of ensuring political security, combating transnational crime, and exchanging strategic intelligence data.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward conditions for resolving the situation in Ukraine, which included the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbass and Novorossiya and the abandonment of plans to join NATO. Moscow also believes that all Western sanctions against Russia should be lifted, and Ukraine's non-aligned and nuclear-free status should be guaranteed.
Russia is open to contacts with the United States under the Donald Trump administration, the ball is on the American side, Lavrov said in an interview.
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