US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that China's "repressive" crackdown on protests over Covid lockdowns showed "weakness" by the communist leadership.
Blinken, in an interview with NBC News, said that people in all countries have a right to "make known their frustration" through peaceful protests.
"In any country where we see that happening and then we see the government take massive repressive action to stop it, that's not a sign of strength, that's a sign of weakness," said Blinken, who was in Romania for NATO meetings.
Blinken, who plans to travel to China next year amid an easing of tensions between the United States and China, declined to weigh in on whether the protests affected the personal standing of President Xi Jinping.
Blinken said that China's zero-Covid policy, the initial trigger for the protests, was "not something that we would do," adding the United States has focused instead on vaccines, testing and treatment.
"China has to figure out a way forward on dealing with Covid, a way forward that answers the health needs but also answers the needs of the people," Blinken said.
The protests, however, have grown into broader calls for political freedoms in China's most widespread demonstrations since 1989 when the communist leadership sent in troops to crush a student-led democracy movement in Tiananmen Square.
Blinken was asked about the situation in China after an initial muted reaction from the US administration, with the White House saying that President Joe Biden was monitoring the protests.
Biden met Xi in November in Bali where the two presidents promised to look at ways to keep tensions in check between the two powers.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Blinken Says 8,000 North Korean Troops Deployed In Russia's Kursk Region Hamas Chief Yahya Sinwar Death "Important Opportunity" To End Gaza War: Blinken Antony Blinken In Israel To Push For A Ceasefire In Gaza Spoke Of Reunification Under India: Sources On Lalduhoma's Viral Old Speech Explained: Sunita Williams Experiences 16 Sunrises And Sunsets Every Day US Election 2024: Donald Trump Leads Kamala Harris In All Swing States North Korea Fires Another Ballistic Missile Ahead Of US Election What If The US Election Ends In A Trump-Kamala Harris Tie? Abortion Rights Issue Influencing Indian American Women's Voting Preference Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.