NEW YORK, June 14. /TASS/. One of key trends that define the US foreign policy is preventing a strategic alliance between Russia and China, France's Ambassador to the United Nations Francois Delattre said in a commentary published in The New York Times on Thursday.
"We can see three powerful trends whose combined effects are significantly changing America's foreign policy," Delattre said.
"The first trend is based on the premise that the United States must prevent a strategic alliance between Moscow and Beijing. But the conclusions differ, as China is now perceived to be the main competitor," he added.
"The strained United States-China relationship is already affecting the international order. The rise in Chinese power and influence at the United Nations during the last five years has been spectacular," he noted.
"The second trend is the now rather widespread belief in America that the postwar order no longer benefits the country as much as it used to," the French diplomat continued. "That explains the current American aspiration to at least partly move away from multilateralism and build an international order on bilateral relations," he explained.
"The third trend is a 'Jacksonian impulse' that the United States is currenly experiencing. Echoing the populist views of President Andrew Jackson - a strange mix of unilateralism and isolationism - the Jacksonian school of thought is part of American history. America's disengagement started before the current administration," Delattre said.
The French ambassador noted that "the world is growing more dangerous and less predictable," while "we are also witnessing the return of heightened competition among the major powers.".