White House hesitant to label China and Russia as ‘evil regimes’.

A reporter on Wednesday demanded an explanation from the White House as to why the Biden administration has repeatedly refrained from calling the governments of Russia and China “evil regimes.”

“It’s not a simple question,” John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, responded. “It’s a criticism that you’re posing as a question. You’d like to see us put a label on these two countries, and President Biden just doesn’t conduct foreign policy that way.”

During a press conference, Newsmax’s chief White House correspondent James Rosen cited President Ronald Reagan, who had described the Soviet regime as the “locus of evil” in the world, and asked why President Joe Biden hasn’t considered labeling governments that are running concentration camps or launching unprovoked wars as “evil regimes.”

Kirby referred to the administration’s national security and defense strategies to explain the president’s approach to these countries.

“You’ll see that we’re speaking pretty plainly to the American people and to those countries and those leaders about how we view their behavior, their conduct on the world stage, and our relationships with them,” he said. “We’ve been very, very honest about that.”

‘Thaw’ in Relations?

Kirby reiterated that the administration wishes to maintain open lines of communication with Beijing in order to avoid misunderstandings, particularly given the high level of “tensions” and the possibility of “miscalculation.”

During a news conference at the close of the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Japan on May 21, Biden said that he expected a “thaw” in relations with China in the short term.

Biden blamed the current worsening in relations with China on a “silly balloon” that flew across the country with espionage equipment before being shot down by a U.S. fighter jet over the Atlantic Ocean.

Kirby stated that the White House views its relationship with China as a “competition” in response to a question about China’s surveillance balloon, recent cyber espionage campaigns, and intellectual property theft, and whether there will be repercussions.

He added that the G-7 leaders are more united on their views about China and will respond to China’s economic coercion.

Conclusion

• The White House has refrained from calling Russia and China “evil regimes” despite criticism from reporters.
• John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, explained that President Biden doesn’t conduct foreign policy by labeling countries.
• The administration wishes to maintain open lines of communication with Beijing to avoid misunderstandings.
• The White House views its relationship with China as a “competition” and the G-7 leaders will respond to China’s economic coercion.