Remarks by Trump's UN envoy pick reflect 'Cold War mentality', China says

BEIJING: China on Wednesday (July 16) said comments by U.S. President Donald Trump's United Nations envoy pick Mike Waltz reflect 'Cold War, zero-sum mentality,' a day after the former Republican lawmaker remarked Washington needs a strong voice to counter Beijing.

AI Brief

Trump nominee Michael Waltz promises UN reform during Senate confirmation hearing.
China criticises Waltz's remarks as ideologically biased.
Waltz was previously ousted as national security adviser before being tapped as UN ambassador.

Waltz - a retired Army Green Beret - is one of the last major Trump nominees awaiting likely confirmation by the U.S. Senate. He made the remarks during his appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday (July 15), adding that he is 'confident we can make the U.N. great again.'

Speaking at a regular news briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China opposed Waltz's 'typical ideological bias' and the U.S. should take concrete actions to build stable relations instead.

Waltz was Trump's national security adviser until he was ousted on May 1 after he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides. Trump then promptly nominated Waltz as his U.N. ambassador.