Condoleezza Rice on China: 'We have to recognize that this is a significant rivalry'

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid rising military and economic tensions between the two countries. Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Blinken faces a different situation than she did when served under former President George W. Bush. In an interview with Yahoo Finance's Seana Smith at the KPMG Women's Leadership Summit, Rice says the relationship with China when she was Secretary of State was "much more cooperative." Rice said today we are dealing with a different China and that "we have to recognize that this is a significant rivalry" that the U.S. "can't sweep under the rug."

Video transcript

- Another conversation here with KPMG holding its Women's Leadership Summit at Baltusrol Golf Club today, bringing together the most accomplished female leaders in business, politics, and sports ahead of this weekend's women's PGA Championship. Now when it comes to sports, the story that's been dominating the headlines is that surprising agreement between the PGA TOUR and LIV Golf. Our very own Seana Smith addressed that topic and much more with former US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE: I'm not privy to what this agreement actually will mean. It looks like it's still being worked out. I'm a fan, and I'm a golfer. And the one thing that I really hope is that it reunites men's professional golf. I miss some of these golfers. And I think that the golfers who have spoken out and have been willing to hang in there, they deserve our respect. And somebody has to think about what their choice is meant for them. But as a fan, I really do want to see Cam Smith, and DJ, and Brooks play again. And so I'm hoping that this reunites men's golf.

SEANA SMITH: Do you see reshaping the game of golf at all?

CONDOLEEZZA RICE: Oh, I think the game of golf is being reshaped anyway. I think you're getting players who are much more vocal about what they need and want from golf. This is the place that I think the LPGA-- I'm delighted that KPMG is here at a historic course like Baltusrol. I mean, this is a place where championships are won.

And the women's game I think is going to really take a leap forward too. And it needs to because if you look at the talents of these golfers, they should be on the big stage more often. I'm really grateful that at Augusta National, we've been sponsoring the Augusta National Women's Amateur. And I have to just put in a plug role saying Stanford player won it. But events like that are raising the stature of women's golf. And so while I am watching what the PGA is doing, frankly, I'm much more concerned that the LPGA finds its rightful place on the big stage.

SEANA SMITH: Yeah. And you certainly have helped move the conversation forward as one of the first female members of Augusta National Golf Club. Secretary, also when it comes to China that has also been obviously a big topic here over the last several years, really for decades. Secretary of State Antony Blinken just making his trip to China. The first Secretary of State to visit China in just about five years. I know you made multiple trips to China while you were part of the George W. Bush administration. What's your assessment just in terms of what our relationship with China is like today when you compare it to what it was about 15 years ago and the path forward?

CONDOLEEZZA RICE: Well, it's a much more cooperative relationship 15 years ago. And that's partly because the presidents that I worked with, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, for some reason seem to have a different vision of what China's role would be in the world. Very cooperative, for instance, on North Korea. That's not the China that we're dealing with today. And we have to recognize that this is a significant rivalry. A rivalry militarily, economically. A rivalry in terms of technology. And we can't sweep that under the rug. These are real differences.

But I'm glad that Secretary Blinken went there because we do have to make sure that we don't stumble into conflict. The Chinese are doing things with their military forces running awfully close to our ships, running close to our aircraft. That's going to end up in disaster. And letting them know that we're going to continue to defend the rights of freedom of navigation, but that they shouldn't come so close to our ships. That's a conversation you can only have in person. And I'm sure that Secretary Blinken had that conversation in person.

SEANA SMITH: And bringing it back here to the US. Lots of talk now about looking ahead to 2024. It's a fractured DC when you take into account what is going on between both parties but also what is going on within each party. What do you see as the future of the GOP party?

CONDOLEEZZA RICE: Oh, I do international politics, all right? I'm a Republican. Everyone knows that. I hope it's a party that continues to advocate for a strong role for the United States in the world, for the power of free markets, for the power of individual liberty and individual responsibility. But also one thing that I'm very proud of is that you're seeing an awful lot of people advocate for better choices for poor kids and their parents in schools.

I am a very major advocate for school choice. Not because I don't believe in public schools. I do believe in public schools. But I also know that if you are a parent of means, you can move to a district where the schools are good and the houses are expensive. You can send your kids to private schools. So who's left in failing neighborhood schools? Poor kids. I just want those parents to have the same choices that parents of means have. And I have to say, school choice has been the banner more in the Republican Party than in the Democratic Party.

So maybe when we think about these parties, we need to look really closely at what they're saying about these key issues. But as I've often said to people, when I'm ready to make comments about American politics, I'll call you.

SEANA SMITH: Secretary Rice, thanks so much for your time.

- Waiting for that call. That was Seana Smith with former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.