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Secretary of State Antony Blinken has disclosed that the United States has seen evidence of attempts by China to influence the upcoming US elections.
During his meetings in China, which wrapped up a three-day visit, Blinken told Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials that “Any interference by China in our election is something that we’re looking very carefully at and is totally unacceptable to us.” He added, “I wanted to make sure that they heard that message again.” Blinken’s trip, which involved discussions with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other senior leaders, focused on maintaining open communication to manage and potentially ease the ongoing tensions.
In an interview following his remarks, Secretary Blinken said, “We have seen, generally speaking, evidence of attempts to influence and arguably interfere, and we want to make sure that that’s cut off as quickly as possible.” He also noted that there would likely be consequences for any potential breach of the commitments made by President Xi during a meeting with President Biden in Woodside, California, last November, aimed at reducing tensions between the two countries.
Despite not detailing the specific evidence, Blinken’s remarks come amidst reports of covert Chinese activities. According to The New York Times, these activities include operations by covert Chinese accounts pretending to be Trump supporters, promoting divisive conspiracy theories, and attacking Biden.
