Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of state has said he is uncertain of how America and China will continue to co-exist "for the next half century".
R ex Tillerson, the US secretary of state has said he is uncertain of how America and China will continue to co-exist « for the next half century ».
Speaking during his first state visit to Beijing, Mr Tillerson said he was committed to establishing an « era of peace » with China, but was surprisingly frank in expressing his concerns about the relationship between the two super powers .
« There is a question perhaps even in the minds of the Chinese: How will the American people, the Chinese people, live with each other in this world for the next half century? » he said.
Mr Tillerson said that as China had opened itself to the world, and begun to occupy a place in the global economy, the two nations had « managed to exist with one another in a spirit of non-conflict ».
They had their differences and but still did what was « in the best interest of our people ».
But Mr Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil chief executive , said that globalisation was changing this. He characterised the world as being at « an inflection point in the relationship of global powers ».
W ithout elaborating he warned that there are « issues arising that have gone unresolved ».
He made the comments to a journalist from the Independent Journal Review, a social media-minded news outlet geared toward young conservatives, in his first sit-down interview since taking on his new role in the Trump administration.
