BEIJING- China’s foreign minister defended his country’s position on the conflict in Ukraine and its close ties to Russia on Tuesday, warning the United States to change its “distorted” attitude toward China or “conflict and confrontation” will ensue. Foreign Minister Qin Gang stated at a news conference on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting in Beijing that the U.S. had been stifling and containing China instead of engaging in fair, rule-based competition. Qin, a dependable assistant to President Xi Jinping and, until recently, China’s ambassador to Washington, said, “The perception and views of the United States of China are seriously distorted.
It sees China as its main foe and the most important geopolitical threat. This is comparable to a shirt’s first button being fastened incorrectly. Years of disagreements over a variety of topics, including Taiwan, trade, and most recently the conflict in Ukraine, have strained relations between the two superpowers. However, things got worse last month when the US shot down a balloon off the US East Coast that it claimed was a Chinese spy plane. However, Qin claimed that in reality, what that meant in practice was that China was not expected to respond with words or deeds when slandered or attacked. The U.S. claims it is establishing guardrails for relations and is not seeking conflict. In his first press conference since, Qin stated, “That is just impossible.”
Qin’s comments struck the same the tough tone of his predecessor, Wang Yi, now China’s most senior diplomat after being made “If the United States does not hit the brakes, and continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailment, which will become conflict and confrontation, and who will bear the catastrophic consequences?” U.S. officials often speak of establishing guardrails in the bilateral relationship to prevent tensions from escalating into crises.
Qin likened Sino-U.S. competition to a race between two Olympic athletes.
“If one side, instead of focusing on giving one’s best, always tries to trip the other up, even to the extent that they must enter the Paralympics, then this is not fair competition,” he said.
During a nearly two-hour news conference in which he answered questions submitted in advance, Qin made a robust defence of “wolf warrior diplomacy”, an assertive and often abrasive stance adopted by China’s diplomats since 2020 “When jackals and wolves are blocking the way, and hungry wolves are attacking us, Chinese diplomats must then dance with the wolves and protect and defend our home and country,” he said.
Qin also said that an “invisible hand” was pushing for the escalation of the war in Ukraine “to serve certain geopolitical agendas”, without specifying who he was referring to.
He reiterated China’s call for dialogue to end the war.
China struck a “no limits” partnership with Russia last year, weeks before its invasion of Ukraine, and China has blamed NATO expansion for triggering the war, echoing Russia’s complaint.
China has declined to condemn the invasion and has fiercely defended its stance on Ukraine, despite Western criticism of its failure to single Russia out as the aggressor.
China has also vehemently denied U.S. accusations that it has been considering supplying Russia with weapons.
Qin said China had to advance its relations with Russia as the world becomes more turbulent and close interactions between President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, anchored the neighbours’ relations.
He did not give a definite answer when asked if Xi would visit Russia after China’s parliament session, which goes on for one more week.
Since Russia invaded its southwestern neighbour a year ago Xi has held talks several times with Putin, but not with his Ukrainian counterpart. This undermines China’s claim of neutrality in the conflict, Kyiv’s top diplomat in Beijing said last month.
Asked whether it was possible that China and Russia would abandon the U.S. dollar and euro for bilateral trade, Qin said countries should use whatever currency was efficient, safe and credible.
China has been looking to internationalise its currency, the yuan, which gained popularity in Russia last year after Western sanctions shut Russia’s banks and many of its companies out of the dollar and euro payment systems.
“Currencies should not be the trump card for unilateral sanctions, still less a disguise for bullying or coercion,” Qin said.
Agencies
