Blinken, the current U.S. Secretary of State, is the 71st Secretary of State in U.S. history, full name Antony Blinken, American citizen, Jewish.
Blinken's great-grandfather was a Jew, well-known among the Jewish community, published books, he was a Jewish writer, came to the United States in 1904, did carpentry, massage, etc., Blinken's grandfather was a Zionist supporter, from Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, his maternal grandparents were from Hungary, both of Jewish descent, his father Donald Blinken graduated from Harvard University, was a banker, was the U.S. ambassador to Hungary, Blinken's uncle Alan Blinken was a graduate of Harvard University, was a banker, and Blinken's uncle Alan Blinken was a graduate of Harvard University. A graduate of Harvard University, Blinken was the U.S. ambassador to Belgium and a former businessman who worked in the financial sector for a long time.
Boyhood
Blinken was born on April 16, 1962 in Jancos, New York, USA, his parents divorced when he was 8 years old, and when he was 9 years old, he followed his mother and stepfather to live in Paris, France, and his childhood and adolescence were spent in Europe and France, which had a great impact on his later outlook on life and values In France, he learned to speak fluent French until he was 18 years old before returning to the United States.
Blinken as a teenager
He began his political career in the United States. After Blinken returned to the United States, he studied at Harvard University in the United States, Blinken's dream was to become an artist, under the influence of his mother, Blinken learned to play the guitar in high school, and he was often seen in music festivals and film productions in college, and football and ice hockey were also his hobbies. He was faced with a difficult choice between art and politics.
In January 1982, Blinken published an op-ed "How the United States and Its Allies Are Facing the Polish Crisis," and after graduating from college, Blinken worked as a brief intern reporter and researcher for the New Republic, a journalist specializing in foreign policy.
In 1985, at the suggestion of his father, Blinken enrolled at Columbia Law School.
In 1987, Blinken completed his studies at Harvard University in the United States and graduated with success.
Blinken received his J.D. in 1988, graduating from Columbia Law School.
From 1988 to 1990, Blinken ran for president after graduation and was a contributor to The New Republic.
During the Clinton administration
Blinken began his political career in 1993 when he became special assistant to Stephen Oxman, assistant secretary of state for European affairs, on the recommendation of his stepfather. He later joined the U.S. National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President.
In 1995, Blinken met his wife, Evan Ryan, at the White House, who served as Hillary Clinton's aid, special assistant to Vice President Joe Biden during the Obama administration, and assistant secretary of state for culture and education. During the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, Blinken used his experience living in Europe and his college efforts to make his mark in politics.
In 2002, Blinken and Biden began a nearly 20-year "political partnership" that paved the way for his later tenure as secretary of state, of which Biden was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, during his tenure as chief of staff.
George W. Bush
During the George W. Bush administration
In 2003, Biden and Blinken expressed firm support for the Bush administration's Iraq war, and after the end of the Iraq war, the two put forward a proposal to divide Iraq into three plans in an attempt to break up Iraq.
In 2007, Blinken joined the camp of the Biden presidential campaign, in the Biden campaign, Blinken was an outsider and was ostracized by the Biden team, but Blinken quickly resolved the conflict through his own clever words and deeds, and was recognized by everyone.
During the Obama administration
In 2008, after Biden stepped down as a presidential candidate, Blinken became an adviser to Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
In July of that year, Obama took Blinken on a trip to the European Union, Iraq and Afghanistan, and helped draft foreign policy.
After Obama was elected president in 2008, Blinken served as a security adviser to Vice President Biden, and during the Obama administration, he was involved in many foreign policy decisions on major issues. Blinken and Biden, during the Obama administration, attended intelligence briefings every day.
In 2011, both Biden and Blinken watched live video of the killing of Osama bin Laden, and Blinken and Biden had become actors in direct influence on high-level U.S. decision-making.
During Obama's re-election in 2013, Blinken served as the president's deputy national security adviser, national security assistant and permanent deputy secretary of state, during which he was mainly responsible for Middle East affairs.
On Obama's recommendation, Blinken took office as deputy secretary of state in January 2015. During his visit to Japan, he used the Obama administration's "Asia-Pacific Economic Rebalancing Strategy" to tell the world in the form of a speech entitled "U.S. Economic Policy in East Asia and the Pacific" that the economy is an important pillar of the Asia-Pacific rebalancing strategy, and Sino-US relations play a vital role in this strategy and are an indispensable part.
January 20, 2016. Blinken visited China and held talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui.
During the Trump administration
In 2017, after Trump took office, he moved to the private sector.
During the Biden administration
In 2020, under the nomination and strong recommendation of US President Joe Biden. On January 26, 2021, Blinken was elected Secretary of State and was sworn in on January 27, making Blinken the 71st Secretary of State of the United States. After taking office as secretary of state, Blinken made a speech on behalf of the United States on China policy, which was repeatedly refuted by the Chinese side.
On June 18~19, 2023, Blinken visited China for the first time as Secretary of State.
February 17, 2024. At a panel discussion at the Security Conference in Munich, Blinken said that "in international interactions, if you're not at the table, you're on the menu." On March 22, Blinken condemned the terrorist attack on the Moscow Concert Hall. Calling the United States against all terrorism.
On April 4, Blinken said in a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister that the United States will play a role as a guide and bridge to help Ukraine join NATO at future NATO summits.
April 24~26. During his visit to China, Blinken reached a five-point consensus with the Chinese side, and he said that he would continue to promote the consensus reached by the two heads of state during their meeting in San Francisco.
epilogue
On the one hand, Blinken wants to expand the cooperation and exchange relations between China and the United States, but on the other hand, he has the idea of "American superiority," which makes him unwilling to act in an indecisive way and hinder each other.
To a certain extent, Blinken's thinking represents the thinking of some American politicians, who believe that infrastructure construction is an important pillar of economic development, and that many Asian countries have invested in infrastructure construction from China, which is also urgently needed by Asian countries.
Blinken believes that China's Belt and Road Initiative and the U.S.'s New Silk Road can complement each other. He believes that China's investment in Asia will enable many countries to connect with each other, enable these countries to have more economic exchanges and development opportunities, bring objective income and great benefits to these countries and peoples, and at the same time benefit the commercial development of the United States in the region, and the United States can also bring certain values and norms to the people of the region, and the region is in line with international standards.
Blinken advocates the use of military means when it is not necessary, but military means are the last option. Politically interventionist, he does not advocate intimidation and threats to make other countries guilty, and he believes that the United States has a leading position in the world. However, we must lead the world with the high quality of the people, strong economic strength, and correct values. Maintain the power of the United States, but play the role of an ally. Give more autonomy to allies, because the United States cannot deal with the world's problems alone, and the United States should play an exemplary role and strength, and it will be easier for the United States to hand over autonomy to its allies.
The United States is burdened with too many burdens, which makes it difficult for the United States to move forward. The United States should change its thinking, adapt itself to the new changes in the international order, and ensure that the security and prosperity of the legal system established by the United States are maintained at the highest level.
Blinken believes that the role of leaders is to hold other countries accountable. Rather than blindly using force to force them to submit, that would only make them counterproductive.
Blinken dominates the American political arena for nearly 30 years, so that he has made many good friends of the Democratic Party, Blinken has a calm personality, but also acts in a low-key manner, cautious and reliable, so that many colleagues praise, and won the trust of the boss, the tone of speech is soft and seductive, but there is a needle in the cotton, Blinken is still a workaholic, but he knows how to manage, give his subordinates full autonomy, but also strictly control the quality, lenient and strict management methods, won the admiration of subordinates and the appreciation of the boss.
Whether it is the Clinton administration, the George W. Bush administration, the Obama administration or the Biden administration, he never takes the initiative to give interviews, and when he is really needed, he only represents the position of the boss, but can smoothly handle the differences of opinion with the boss, Blinken is called "the most perfect staff in Washington for decades", which is the most beautiful praise given to him by the Washington Post.
Blinken is "resourceful", and he uses smart people to use stupid methods in politics, which is one of the secrets of his success.
Although the positions are different, it is worth explaining that Blinken is serving the United States, his words and deeds represent the United States, and in terms of China policy, he only represents the position of the United States, and the author only rationally analyzes his character and life experience, and has nothing to do with anything else.