Hillary Clinton warns Western leaders against taking a soft stance on China and Russia

While speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that the United States and its allies must stand up to China and be wary of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s use of “non-state” actors to project the Kremlin’s power on the world stage.

Speaking on a panel alongside Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Clinton surmised that the Biden administration was poised to loosen sanctions on China – even as Beijing continues to rattle its saber across the South China Sea.

“Of course we should cooperate on a range of issues, but we also cannot permit the kind of aggressive military build-up, efforts to dominate maritime navigation, the intimidation of nations in the larger Asia-Pacific region,” Clinton told the forum.

But Western democracies should also be weary of an aggressive Russia, Clinton cautioned.

Although Putin has attempted to “hug China” in order to avoid conflict in the Far East, he has continued to exercise power through asymmetric means – most notably through the use of non-state actors.

“He has a very large mercenary force that has been operating everywhere from Syria to the Central African Republic,” Clinton noted. “He has a very large stable of hackers and those who deal in disinformation and cyberwarfare, both in and outside of the government. He’s engaged in a lot of asymmetric power moves.”

Ultimately, as the United States and its allies continue to confront a quickly shifting balance of global power, Clinton urged countries to pay closer attention to “asymmetric power centers” which often operate “in full cooperation” with state actors like the Kremlin.

"We can't just think about nation states," she continued. "Putin is a great example of that, because with his oligarchic coterie, he has utilized many non-state actors to pursue personal as well as nationalistic goals."

The new state of affairs would ideally be one of "maximum engagement but with superior strength," Tony Blair noted.