'US not seeking a new Cold War', avers Joe Biden at UNGA amid strained ties with China

US President Joe Biden addressed the UN General assembly on Tuesday, saying that the country was not seeking a 'new Cold War' with any nation or the world's division into rigid blocks. President Biden asserted that the US was ready to work with any nation towards a peaceful resolution even if there were 'intense disagreements' in other areas.

“We are not seeking a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs," Biden said. "The United States is ready to work with any nation that steps up and pursues peaceful resolution to share challenges even if we have intense disagreement in other areas," he added.

Biden's message on preventing another Cold War comes amid the long-building tensions between the US and China. The latter has been cornered by the US and the world on several issues ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to its abuse of human rights in Xinjiang, and its blatant aggression in the Indo-pacific region. Notably, even as the US President asserted that he was not looking to enter into another Cold War-like situation, he took the UNGA stage to raise alarm about human rights abuses in Xinjiang. 

UN warns of a second Cold War

The statement by the US also assumes significance since it comes days after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a new potential Cold War between the two superpowers i.e US and China. Talking about the challenges ahead of the UNGA session, Guterres said that both Washington and Beijing should be cooperating on global issues and work to repair their “completely dysfunctional” relationship. The UN chief noted that the US and China were creating rival interests, currency, trade, financial rules“ and their own zero-sum geopolitical and military strategies" which could all lead up to another dangerous Cold War.  

“We need to avoid at all cost a Cold War that would be different from the past one, and probably more dangerous and more difficult to manage,” Guterres said.

The Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States had seen mass destruction in the aftermath of World War II as the two nuclear-armed superpowers clashed in a bid to dominate the world stage. A cold war could be more perilous this time, the UN chief has warned.

(With Agency Inputs)