The U.S. has seen evidence of Chinese attempts to “influence and arguably interfere” with the upcoming elections, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken disclosed on Friday.
His comments came during an interview with CNN at the end of his three-day trip to China. Blinken had met with top officials in China, including President Xi Jinping, who had previously made a commitment to President Joe Biden that China would not interfere in the elections.
Xi, while meeting with Biden in November, had said China would stay out of the 2024 election
Biden and Xi had met for the first time in a year when they attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco.
Biden raised the issue of potential Chinese election interference. Xi, in a brief exchange, said China would not interfere in the election,
But Blinken said on Friday: “We have seen, generally speaking, evidence of attempts to influence and arguably interfere, and we want to make sure that that’s cut off as quickly as possible,” when he was asked whether China was violating Xi’s commitment to Biden so far.
