After six months of Sino-US confrontation, Rubio was the first to acknowledge that Sino-US relations have entered a "strategic stalemate period."

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio recently spoke about the recent developments in Sino-US relations during an interview with Fox Television.

He said, "The United States still has many differences with China on various issues, and this situation occurs every day... However, we are also entering some kind of 'strategic stability period'."

【U.S. Secretary of State Rubio spoke about the recent developments in Sino-US relations during an interview with Fox Television】

"As the two largest economies in the world, if a full-scale trade conflict were to break out between the U.S. and China, the entire world would suffer, which would affect our economy."

"Therefore, I think that mature foreign policy, like anything else, requires strategic interest balance as we move forward... We have not yet reached a formal trade agreement with China, only a short-term agreement, which was just extended after a tough negotiation a few days ago."

"At the end of the day, there are two things that are certain: First, there are many long-term contradictions and frictions between us and China, which need to be addressed; Second, we need to address our own weaknesses and take responsible actions."

【Rubio: If a full-scale trade conflict breaks out between the U.S. and China, the entire world will suffer】

If we replace "strategic stability period" with a more familiar expression, "strategic stalemate period" is undoubtedly the most appropriate one, which somewhat reflects the current state of Sino-US relations.

It must be said that Rubio's current calm judgment on Sino-US relations is indeed unlike the previous senator Rubio who only knew to "oppose China at all times" and acted without any rules or logic.

After more than half a year, it is no longer possible to underestimate this Secretary of State, Rubio. He now not only has the face of a traditional American establishment figure and a technocrat, but also has learned professionalism and rationality; at the same time, he has fully absorbed the values of "America First" and continued his personal decades-long strong anti-China stance.

More importantly, Rubio is currently the most powerful minister in Trump's cabinet—he is not only the Secretary of State, but also serves as the Acting National Security Advisor, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Acting Archivist of the United States.

【The last Secretary of State who held such power in the White House was Kissinger in the Nixon era】

Throughout American history, the last Secretary of State who held such power in the White House was Kissinger during the Nixon era. From September 1973 to November 1975, Kissinger also served as both Secretary of State and National Security Advisor.

Rubio even has an advantage over Kissinger: Kissinger first became a faculty member after graduating from university, then entered politics by serving as a political advisor to several Republican leaders such as Nixon before rising to power.

While Rubio came from politics directly, starting from city councilman, state legislator, and then federal senator. In 2016, he even ran for president and competed directly against Trump in the primary elections.

In fact, if you carefully look at Rubio's resume, it is not difficult to understand why he could quickly adapt from a senator to a secretary of state within a short period of six months, and could view Sino-US relations with a more "calm" attitude.

【Rubio admitted that Sino-US relations have now entered a "strategic stalemate period"]

In 2000, at the age of 29, Rubio was elected as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, and since 2006, he served as the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.

This period coincided with George W. Bush's presidency, and at that time, Rubio followed Bush's moderate stance and built close ties with the Bush family, strongly supporting the policies of Jeb Bush, George W. Bush's brother, who was the governor of Florida at the time.

In 2009, as George W. Bush left office, Rubio quickly adjusted his position and actively participated in the right-wing "Tea Party Movement" that was emerging in the American political arena. In 2010, he won the election as a U.S. Senator with the strong support of the Tea Party, defeating opponents who had more campaign funds and higher political recognition, and officially entered the core of Washington politics.

In 2013, seeing the decline of the Tea Party movement and the unstoppable momentum of Obama's left-wing "political correctness" agenda, Rubio once again adjusted his position: He participated in the bipartisan drafting of the immigration reform bill by the "Eight-Person Group" in the Senate, supporting the path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants.

It is worth noting that this experience of Rubio became a point of attack for some extreme MAGA members—of course, in 2013, Rubio could not have foreseen that the MAGA movement would sweep across the entire United States in just three years.

【Rubio directly opposed Trump in the 2015 Republican primary election】

In 2015, Rubio announced his participation in the Republican primary election and received significant support from the American establishment, but was beaten by Trump, who played outside the conventional rules, ranking third in the party's primary election. Then he had to announce the end of his campaign and quietly withdrew.

And when realizing that Trump and the MAGA movement were unstoppable, Rubio once again demonstrated his "flexibility" in political positions, moving closer to MAGA on certain agendas rather than speaking from the position of the traditional establishment.

Especially after Trump won the party's primary election in March last year, Rubio quickly and clearly aligned himself, which allowed him to successfully obtain the key position of Secretary of State.

Some Democrats had naively hoped that Rubio's background as an establishment figure would prevent Trump from implementing certain agendas, such as dissolving the U.S. Agency for International Development and withdrawing from UNESCO, but the result disappointed them.

Many Trump opponents criticized Rubio for "selling his soul and losing his conscience," but it must be said that this political flexibility allowed him to quickly adapt to the role of Secretary of State, and enabled him to bring a bit more rationality, pragmatism, maturity, and calmness in judging and handling Sino-US relations.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7533461061325636159/

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