Back in 2019, Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke at the China-sponsored Confucius Institute and said this about U.S.-China relations: “We are not in a new Cold War.” As President Joe Biden’s pick for U.N. ambassador, she says she regrets her remarks.
During her recent U.S. Senate confirmation hearing, Thomas-Greenfield said she had made a “huge mistake” speaking at the Confucius Institute. The organization encourages public educational partnerships between colleges and universities in China and other countries, and is funded in part by an affiliate of the Chinese Ministry of Education.
Thomas-Greenfield spoke at Savannah State University’s Confucius Institute, which has since closed. It was one of dozens of such entities in the U.S. that offered Chinese-language classes. The Institute drew some concerns about whether the Chinese Communist Party was using it and the other centers to disseminate Chinese government propaganda on U.S. campuses.
The Biden nominee for U.N. Ambassador said that her words delivered at the Confucius Institute did not constitute an accurate portrayal of her views on China.
She also says she regrets “having had my name associated with the Confucius Institute.”
China has regularly flown warplanes over international waters in the South China Sea in recent months between southern Taiwan and the Taiwanese-controlled Pratas Islands, BBC reported.
For two days in a row last weekend, Taiwan reported seeing more Chinese warplanes than usual over international waters in the South China Sea. On Saturday, a U.S. aircraft carrier group sailed into the South China Sea, BBC reported. This was seen as “a show of force” and not good for peace, the Chinese foreign ministry told reporters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke about the cold war, warning President Biden against keeping up with the protectionist policies of his predecessor, Trump.
Speaking Monday at the virtual World Economic Forum, Xi said, “The misguided approach of antagonism and confrontation — be it in the form of a cold war, hot war, trade war or tech war — will eventually hurt all countries’ interest and undermine everyone’s well-being.”
Thomas-Greenfield has decades of diplomatic experience. On Jan. 28 during her confirmation hearing, she called for America’s “muscular return to the multilateral body to counter the rise of China,” The New York Times reported. During the hearing, she faced challenging questions for her decision to deliver a speech at the Confucius Institute.
Several Republican lawmakers harshly criticized Thomas-Greenfield’s speech as “overly optimistic about China’s relationship with African countries while not being tough enough on Beijing’s human rights record.”
“I do regret that speech,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “But if you look at what I have done prior to that, there is no question that I am not at all naïve about what the Chinese are doing and I have called them out on a regular basis, including today.”
During her hearing, Thomas-Greenfield made critical comments about China’s human rights record.
She also promised to work “aggressively against Chinese malign efforts in New York.”
Thomas-Greenfield told senators that if she was confirmed, the U.S. would become a more active presence at the United Nations, a position that was eroded under former President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy.
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Thomas-Greenfield’s nomination has been praised by veteran diplomats, The New York Times reported.
She is expected to be confirmed by the Senate within days after both Democratic and Republican senators praised the 35-year Foreign Service veteran who has served on four continents, most notably in Africa, Yahoo reported.
