U.S. President Donald Trump sees China as a true rival and is investing to stay prepared for any military conflict, Estonia’s Ambassador to Washington Kristjan Prikk said.
The U.S. is currently struggling with the challenge that its dependence on the PRC for rare earth metals may pose significant difficulties.
“The problems associated with this dependency have actually been recognized in expert circles for some time,” Prikk said, speaking to “Välisilm.”
“Figuratively speaking, it’s as if we’ve been holding our breath for years. There have been certain developments within America’s own sector. But now quite forceful steps are being taken to reduce this dependency and its related risks—up to the point where the Pentagon has taken stakes in companies dealing with rare earths, and even to the extent that the Pentagon is buying up stocks of certain rare earth elements on world markets, among other measures,” Prikk continued.
On whether U.S. President Donald Trump actively fears China, Prikk said that he thought that didn’t really encapsulate the situation as well as the terms “threat” or “rival” would. “And certainly, Trump’s own personality wouldn’t allow him to say something like that. But he definitely perceives China as a real rival. Even just looking at how he speaks about President Xi or discusses those topics, there’s quite a lot of respect or caution there. But he certainly believes that, ultimately, it is the U.S., its business sector, and the American people who will come out on top in this competition.”
As for the situation in the Taiwan Strait, Prikk said he did not wish to speculate about different scenarios or capabilities, noting that U.S. military planners have been dealing with these challenges “day and night” and “for years.”
“The U.S. certainly intends to always be ready for this conflict or challenge if it should arise,” the ambassador added.
Trump recently reduced tariffs on China and announced an end to a “rare earths roadblock,” after meeting with President Xi Jinping.
Other parts of the world which have drawn U.S. attention lately include oil reserves titan Venezuela; President Nicolás Maduro has appealed to China as well as, more prominently in the media, to Russia; the latter in any case embroiled in its ongoing stalled invasion of Ukraine and trying to fend off Ukrainian drone strikes on oil facilities.
Nigeria, too, has come into the Trump focus, over the persecution of Christians.
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Source:
‘Välisilm,’ interviewer Joosep Värk.