US Secretary of state designate Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday promised to pursue a new era of "smart power" diplomacy to deal with major problems but warned that the use of military power "will sometimes be necessary."
"We must use what has been called 'smart power,' the full range of tools at our disposal," said US President-elect Barack Obama's pick for the top diplomatic job in testimony to a Senate confirmation hearing.
"America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America," she said ahead of Obama's swearing in as the 44th US President on January 20.
Advocating a mix of diplomatic, economic, military, political legal and cultural strategies to secure American interests worldwide, the 61-year-old former first lady said she and Obama believed in foreign policy which hinged on "principles and pragmatism, not rigid ideology."
She warned that the use of military power "will sometimes be necessary, and we will rely on it to protect our people and our interests when and where needed as a last resort."
"I believe American leadership has been wanting, but is still wanted," Clinton said as she appeared keen to repair America's strained ties with some countries during eight years of Bush administration.
On the worsening Israeli-Palestine conflict, Clinton called for a strategy for achieving peace in the Middle East and promised that the Obama administration would be sympathetic to both parties.
Though Clinton did not offer any new peace proposal, Clinton said the United States cannot give up on peace in the Middle East, even with the recent setbacks in the Gaza Strip.
Clinton said that she and Obama were sympathetic to the costs of the conflict for both the Israelis and the Palestinians.
On Iran, she said the incoming administration will try engagement with Iran in a "new approach."
"We will pursue a new, perhaps a different approach" toward Iran and adopt "an attitude toward engagement that might bear fruit," she said.
On US-China relations, she said Washington would go for a "positive and cooperative" relationship with Beijing.
China is a "critically important actor in a changing global landscape," she said. However, she maintained that "this is not a one-way effort."
She said the future of US-China ties "depends on the choices China makes about its future at home and abroad."
Washington and Beijing have had frictions on a range of issues including human rights trade.
On Sino-Russian ties, the Secretary of state designate said the new US administration will seek "cooperative engagement with Russia" but defend international norms.
"President-elect (Barack) Obama and I seek a future of cooperative engagement with the Russian government on matters of strategic importance, while standing up strongly for American values and international norms," Clinton said.
The administration of US President George W. Bush has accused Russia of being increasingly authoritarian at home and belligerent abroad. Bilateral ties deteriorated after Russia fought a brief war with US ally Georgia in August.