Retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax the United States needs to "reevaluate" its "relationship with China" and restructure it "immediately," in light of Chinese President Xi Jinping's deepening bond with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During his Monday appearance on "Spicer & Co.," Holt was asked if the Biden administration is taking the increasingly cozy relationship between Russia and China seriously enough.
"Not nearly enough, and we heard [National Security adviser] Jake Sullivan basically last week cheering on Xi Jinping, as he goes on this diplomacy blitzkrieg that he's been on worldwide," Holt said. "If you look at Saudi Arabia and Iran, they're already moving fast for that rapprochement, [with] Saudi Arabia announcing this morning that it's going to reopen a consulate in Damascus, Syria. That has to get Israel's attention, and that's all Chinese diplomacy."
Putin hosted Xi for dinner at the Kremlin Monday, with formal talks to follow on Tuesday. The Chinese leader has been trying to paint Beijing as a potential peacemaker in Ukraine, and has called for a ceasefire and peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv — as part of a 12-point proposal to end the conflict.
Also, Holt said that the authoritarian leaders' meeting in Moscow "is not a small affair."
"This is a marriage," said Holt. "Both presidents wrote op-eds into the other country's papers pledging an unlimited relationship, tighter cooperation with no bounds and to challenge Western supremacy in the world."
On Monday, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said Kyiv expects China to use its influence on Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine.
"We stand ready to engage in a closer dialog with China in order to restore peace in Ukraine in accordance with the principles enshrined in the U.N. Charter, and the latest UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) resolution on this matter," Nikolenko said.
Holt lamented that any communication between Ukraine and China likely would not work in Kyiv's favor.
"Then we're going to see this phone call between Zelenskyy and Xi Jinping," said Holt. "He's not bringing flowers. He's bringing threats and he's bringing get-on-board-or-else-type threats."
Moving forward, Holt said the U.S. must devise a new approach to the threat that China's communist government poses.
"What we need to do is get ahead of this and formulate a strategy and that involves the painful process of reevaluating our relationship with China and re-engineering it and reconstructing it immediately," added Holt.
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