US bullying guised as responsible competition leads to conflict: China
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The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson criticizes the US approach toward its relations with China, saying that its understanding of the relations is of severe misconception.
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Chinese flags topple two US flags in Beijing, China, November 13, 2020 (AP)
The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that the United States must "stop dreaming" about engaging with China from a position of power.
The spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin, criticized the US for repeatedly asking China to take part in talks and pushing to set a "guardrail" for their relationship while disregarding China's concerns.
Wang highlighted the US hypocrisy as it calls for communication "on one hand, jeopardizes Chinese interests on the other," as its rhetoric is inconsistent with its actions.
He also underlined the US' "severe misperception" of its relations with Beijing, emphasizing that these relations are not a "zero-sum game" in which one of the countries has to gain for the other to lose, or vice versa.
However, the official said the US should not see China as a "major competitor and biggest geopolitical challenge," adding that depriving his country of its "development interests" under the guise of responsible competition can only be described as bullying, eventually leading the two countries into confrontation.
Earlier, a report by The Economist revealed that many nations are unwilling to economically break apart from China, despite growing US pressure on them. It added that many of the sectors that fuel their growth have supply chains that flow through China, and despite the connected ties, China's investment in their infrastructure is beneficial.
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to make a trip to China on June 18 to improve relations with Beijing. Blinken also spoke to the Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller claimed that Blinken had underscored "the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship to avoid miscalculation and conflict."
On the other hand, a readout by the Chinese Foreign Ministry stressed that Qin warned Blinken that relations between Beijing and Washington faced "new difficulties and challenges" since the start of 2023 highlighting that "it's clear who is responsible."
"China has always viewed and managed China-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation put forward by President Xi Jinping," Qin added.
