WASHINGTON, April 14 – China is the most important geopolitical challenge facing the United States in the 21st century, said Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns.
“The second [desafío para dar forma al futuro] it is the long-term problem posed by China’s ambitious leadership, the most significant geopolitical challenge as far as I can see in the 21st century,” Burns said during a speech at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Burns called President Xi Jinping’s China in many ways the most profound test the CIA has ever faced, RT reported.
In addition, Burns pointed out that China has a GPD of about $15 trillion and is a major trading partner with 120 countries and is a leader in artificial intelligence, 5G, drones, hypersonic technology and web applications.
A group of six US congressmen happened to have arrived in Taiwan on an unannounced visit, the local State Department reported on its Twitter account. The lawmakers were received at Taipei’s Songshan Airport by the island’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joseph Wu.
The delegation consists of both Democratic and Republican representatives. In particular, and includes the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, who in February proposed legislation that would require the US to change the name of Taipei’s de facto embassy in Washington to the “Representation Office of Taiwan.” to negotiate , Reuters details.
The visit will last two days and will include a meeting with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen on Friday morning. According to Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang, the congressmen’s trip demonstrates the “rock-solid” nature of Washington-Taiwan relations.
The visit comes after Washington earlier this month approved the possible sale of military assets to the island, a move strongly opposed by Beijing, which described it as yet another attempt at interference in its internal affairs.
A delegation of former senior US defense and security officials also visited Taiwan on March 1.
Beijing regards Taiwan as an inalienable part of its territory and insists that any negotiations with the island that bypass the central government violate a key principle of its policies, such as that of a China.