US focus shifting to China from Afghanistan, says Antony Blinken

NEW YORK: Withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan meshes with the Biden administration’s goal of focusing resources on China, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said, as another top US official said it was time for the Afghan people to “step up”. “The terrorism threat has moved to other places,” Blinken told ABC on Sunday.
“And we have other very important items on our agenda, including the relationship with China. That’s where we have to focus our energy and resources.” He said al-Qaida “has been significantly degraded”. He also played down concerns that US intelligence might be blindsided to terrorist threats emerging in Afghanistan.