During a discussion in Washington, D.C., national security advisers to the current and next U.S. president, Jake Sullivan and Mike Volz, did not mention the Russian-Ukrainian war among the main challenges to U.S. national security. This was reported by the Voice of America, according to UNN.
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Both advisers reportedly usually defended their presidents' views on Ukraine and Russia, the Middle East, and China when speaking to the media. However, during the discussion in Washington, which marked the transfer of power, they tried to emphasize the main foreign policy challenges that the United States faces during the transition. In particular, Sullivan and Volz believe that the main challenge to US foreign policy is China.
"We can't take our eyes off the long-term strategic competition with the People's Republic of China because China is the only country that has both the ambition and the potential ability to compete with us in all dimensions," Sullivan emphasized. "We haven't faced a challenge like this in a very long time, maybe ever, because the Soviet Union didn't have some of the economic and other drivers that China has."
While Volz said that the new US administration is concerned about China's influence in South America and the US dependence on the production of many key goods in China, including pharmaceuticals.
The discussion reflected how differently the representatives of the two administrations view the main threats.