US-China relations: Blinken accuses China of acting more aggressively
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused China of acting more aggressively abroad and more repressively at home.
He said in an interview with CBS News the US did not want to hold China down but would not allow it to undermine the rules-based international order.
He noted that a military confrontation was profoundly against the interests of both countries.
Tensions have soared in recent times over trade, espionage and the pandemic.
The China-US relationship is crucial to both sides and the wider world, with Beijing repeatedly calling on the new administration in Washington to improve relations which deteriorated under President Joe Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump.
What the US really wants from the China talks
How will Joe Biden change foreign policy?
Mr Blinken told CBS' 60 Minutes that Mr Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had talked about a wide range of topics in their first phone conversation, which lasted two hours, in February.
"President Biden made clear that in a number of areas we have real concerns about the actions that China has taken, and that includes in the economic area, and that includes the theft of intellectual property," he said.
He stopped short of calling China an enemy even though the US has accused Beijing of stealing hundreds of billions of dollars in trade secrets and intellectual property.
"We don't have the luxury of not dealing with China," he said. "There are real complexities to the relationship, whether it's the adversarial piece, whether it's the competitive piece, whether it's the co-operative piece."
But, he said, although China was acting like "someone who's trying to compete unfairly and increasingly in adversarial ways... we're much more effective and stronger when we're bringing like-minded and similarly aggrieved countries together to say to Beijing: 'This can't stand, and it won't stand'."
Mr Blinken is visiting London for the first face-to-face meeting of foreign ministers from the G7 industrialised countries in more than two years.
President Biden, in his first address to Congress last week, made the point that he was not seeking conflict with China and said he had told President Xi in his call that "we welcome the competition" to be the dominant global power.
Read More : Oscars 2021: Best Actress nominees, from Frances McDormand to Viola Davis
As we take a look at the strong female leads this year, we cant help but take a look at the actresses who have been overlooked in the past. As Melissa Leo breathed fire as a ferocious Mother Superior, it seemed that the two-time
Oscars 2021: Best Actress nominees
Oscar nominee was snubbed in her under the radar movie directed by first-timer Margaret Bett. All while Battle of the Sexes, a riveting performance by Emma Stone and Steve Carell, challenged gender issues that are dominating the headlines today but was still unfairly ignored by the Academy. And finally, one of the best performances by a young actress as 22-year-old Florence Pugh captivated audiences in her performance in Lady Macbeth and to no avail, but lets take a look at this years nominees and get a feel for who we think will be the winner...
Viola Davis | Ma Raineys Black Bottom
How to Get Away with Murder, Fences and now Ma Raineys Black Bottom - what cant this woman do? Having won an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Tony Awards, she is the first African-American to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". Four years ago, Davis won an Oscar for her role in "Fences", where she played another August Wilson heroine, but this victory was met with a lot of controversy as many (myself included) believed she deserved the victory for Best Actress rather than Supporting Actress. As the blues singer Ma Rainey, in George C. Wolfes film, Davis stands in nobodys shadow. Lets see what this years Oscars will bring.
Andra Day | The United States vs. Billie Holiday
The United States vs. Billie Holiday is a 2021 American biographical film about singer Billie Holiday, based on the book Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari. Directed by Lee Daniels, the film stars Andra Day in the titular role, along with Trevante Rhodes, Natasha Lyonne and Garrett Hedlund. Andra Day, is no newbie when it comes to the world of music as she won a Golden Globe for her performance in Lee Daniels biopic, but that paired with actress creates a dynamic twofold thats hard to compete with.
Could a portrait of an iconic singer as a tragic, strung-out mess win a Best Actress Oscar? Lets ask last years winner, Reneé Zellweger.
Vanessa Kirby | Pieces of a Woman
Vanesa Kirby has become known through her role as the fragile young Princess Margaret in The Crown but her new role in Pieces of a Woman might leave you surprised. Kirby plays Martha, a Boston woman whose home birth results in unspeakable loss, from which Martha spends the rest of the film excavating herself. In her grief-stricken role, Kirby hits a nerve for many viewers who are either parents or have gone through a similar loss. While she is an underdog in the array of nominated talented actresses this year, but we still believe the moving performance could lead to a victory this year.
Frances McDormand | Nomadland
One of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation, she is known for her portrayals of quirky, headstrong female characters. Even though McDormand is known for her roles in small-budget independent films he has still managed to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting" as she has won the Best Actress award twice for Fargo and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. McDormand steps into the shoes of Fern, in Nomadland, a woman that embarks on a journey through the American West after losing everything and through her role manages to make a film cast of non-actors look like they have been acting their whole lives. Will McDormand take home another Oscar this year?
Carey Mulligan | Promising Young Woman
The British actress has received numerous awards and nominations, including one British Academy Film Award, a Critics Choice Award and nominations for two Academy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and one Tony Award but this one was an unexpected one. In her role as Cassie, Mulligan embraces her characters trauma and tendency to put herself in danger as she embarks on a journey or revenge against men. Cassie is wickedly smart and cunning, but she is living a secret life. The film introduces Cassie a seemingly drunk in a nightclub, in serious need of rescuing from drunk ill-intended men but all of a sudden the realisation of what is about to happen to her sobers us up and she begins her master plan.
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