⁍ The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, David Stilwell, said on Thursday China’s actions around the world were not those of a responsible global actor.

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⁍ Stilwell said the United States was not asking other countries to choose sides, but to stand up against China’s ‘malign’ behavior.

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⁍ His comments came as the U.S. administration has stepped up criticism, sanctions and other actions against China.

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– “These are not the actions of a responsible global actor, but a lawless bully.” Those were the words of the top US diplomat for East Asia in his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, Reuters reports. David Stilwell said China’s moves in the South China Sea, around Taiwan, and in waters it disputes with Japan have been “particularly egregious” over the past few months. “The United States is not asking other countries to choose sides, but to stand up against China’s ‘malign’ behavior and to protect their own sovereignty and economic interests,” he said. “The United States is prepared to cooperate with Beijing where interests are aligned, for instance on North Korea.” Stilwell’s testimony came as Senate Democrats announced their own program to counter China’s global influence. On Thursday, Senate Democrats announced their own program to counter China’s global influence, unveiling sweeping legislation seeking to boost US competitiveness and recast diplomacy with Beijing. The top US diplomat for European affairs, Philip Reeker, told the same Senate hearing that Europe was ‘arguably’ the central front in China’s effort to supplant US global leadership, but Russia remained the primary military threat there.