Challenges posed by China exceed those of Cold War: US

Official says US must raise shipbuilding speed of navy and defence manufacturing capacity

The challenges to the United States posed by China exceed those of the Cold War, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said on Sept 18, charging that Beijing's support for Russia's defence industry came directly from China's leadership.

President Joe Biden's administration has been explicit that it is not seeking a cold war with China, but increasingly, analysts and members of the US Congress have said escalating global competition between the two superpowers resembled a different but new style of cold war.

Mr Campbell told a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing that Washington needed to maintain a bipartisan focus on China and step up the speed of US naval shipbuilding and the capacity of the US defence manufacturing base.

"Frankly, the Cold War pales in comparison to the multifaceted challenges that China presents. It's not just the military challenges. It's across the board. It's in the Global South. It is in technology," he said.