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The rebirth of the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination: Guidelines for success
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses reporters during his first press briefing at the State Department in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/Pool
Buried in the 5,593-page stimulus bill signed into law last December was a significant institutional reform of the State Department: the (re-)creation of an Office of Sanctions Coordination.
The office is modeled on the former Office of the Coordinator for Sanctions Policy, which was established in 2013 by then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and disbanded in 2017 by then-US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. By enshrining the office in law, Congress is seeking to make it a permanent fixture of the State Department. And by calling for it to be led by an ambassador-level, Senate-confirmed official who will report directly to the secretary of state Congress has positioned it well for success. (Full disclo
2021-01-31 01:36:05 GMT2021-01-31 09:36:05(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
Containers of China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited are seen at the Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles County, the United States, Feb. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) In areas ranging from trade and investment to people-to-people exchanges, the China-U.S. relationship is at a low point rarely seen since the two countries established their diplomatic ties.
Over the past few years, this most important bilateral relationship in the world has deviated from course due to disruptions by irresponsible policies, a Cold War mentality, and ideological biases triggered by a handful of U.S. politicians.
His brief speech, delivered to about 30 agency staff, was a veiled acknowledgement of turning the page on the combative tenure of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
“I know the State Department that I’m walking into is not the same one I left four years ago,” Blinken said while paying tribute to the 47 State Department staff who have died from COVID-19 and acknowledging barriers and fencing that went up following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
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As part of President Biden’s push to promote unity after the stark divisions of the Trump era, Blinken implored State Department staff and told them they have a role to play amid his push to rebuild morale and trust.
Trump, China, and Foreign Policy as Theater
A new op-ed by Mike Pompeo and Marshall Billingslea vividly demonstrates everything that has been wrong with Trump’s China policy.
January 06, 2021
President Donald J. Trump joins Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, at the start of their bilateral meeting Saturday, June 29, 2019, at the G20 Japan Summit in Osaka, Japan.
Credit: Flickr/The White House
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I would have normally prefaced a piece on muscular foreign policy pronouncements from a lame duck administration days away from stepping down with the famous Dylan Thomas lines – “Do not go gentle into the good night… Rage, rage against the dying of the light” – had said administration not been U.S. President Donald Trump’s. Even as Trump himself bends every known political norm known in the United States to the breaking point to hold on to power, despite unambiguous defeat in the November elections, his policy