Clinton Says U.S. Support for China’s Rise Contains Caveats

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said while the U.S. supports the rise of countries like China that backing doesn’t equal agreement with policies in those countries.

“We support China’s rise, we support India’s rise, we support Brazil’s rise,” said Clinton. “Sometimes people mistake our support for these countries and their ambitions as agreement. We have many areas of agreement and many areas of disagreement.”

In a wide-ranging address to students and local leaders in Christchurch, New Zealand, Clinton touched on the difficulties of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the need to reform the United Nations and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

Clinton’s visit to New Zealand is part of a two-week trip through the Asia-Pacific to bolster alliances and assert U.S. leadership in the region.

Clinton renewed the U.S. partnership with New Zealand in Wellington yesterday, cementing relations that were derailed 25 years ago by a nuclear feud. She signed the “Wellington Declaration,” an agreement to work on shared priorities including security and development.

--Editors: Paul Tighe

To contact the reporter for this story: Nicole Gaouette in Christchurch, New Zealand, at ngaouette@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bill Austin in Tokyo at billaustin@bloomberg.net