BEIJING (AP) –Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned on Tuesday that Beijing and Washington are headed for “clash and confrontation” if the United States doesn’t change course, pushing relations between rivals to historic lows. Hit the moment. , adopting a combative tone.
In his first press conference since taking office late last year, Qin’s blunt language implied that the two countries were on trade and technology, on Taiwan, and on people’s rights and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Washington’s China policy is “totally deviating from the rational and sound path,” said China’s annual congressional session as Chinese leaders set economic and political priorities for the coming year.
Qin’s comments echo comments made by President Xi Jinping in his speech to lawmakers on Monday.
Faced with this, China must “keep calm, stay focused, maintain stability and strive for progress, take positive measures, unite and fight with courage,” he said. rice field. With U.S. officials increasingly concerned about China’s expanding political and economic goals and the possibility of a war over Taiwan, many officials in Washington have warned against China’s influence abroad.
Concerns over China’s espionage activities against the United States and the Chinese government’s influence campaigns have been of particular concern in recent weeks, with officials from both countries frequently exchanging claims.
US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken canceled a planned trip to Beijing after Washington shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was flying over US territory. A giant balloon and payload containing electronics and optics have been recovered from the ocean floor and analyzed by the FBI.
Then, last week, China reacted with anger when US officials again questioned whether the COVID-19 pandemic started with a lab leak. The State Department accused the United States of “politicizing the issue” to discredit China.
The two countries have also exchanged angry words about Taiwan as China intensifies its diplomatic isolation and military harassment of democracy on the autonomous island it claims to be its own.
Qin, who briefly served as ambassador to Washington and made a name for himself as a State Department spokesman for his harsh denunciations of China’s critics, addressed all of these issues on Tuesday.
He criticized Washington for shooting down the balloon and repeatedly claimed that the appearance of the balloon in the skies of the United States was an accident.
In Taiwan, Qin called the issue the first red line that should not be crossed. In 1949, China and Taiwan split during the civil war. Although the United States has not committed to unifying Taiwan or formally independence, federal law requires Washington to ensure that the island has the means to defend itself in the event of an attack.
In Taipei, Taiwan’s defense minister said the military would not engage in direct clashes with Chinese forces, but would not back down should Chinese aircraft or ships intrude into Taiwan’s coastal waters and airspace.
Qin’s press conference took place two days after he opened the annual session of the National People’s Congress. The National People’s Congress is the largely ceremonial body that meets to approve government reports and a new list of top-level appointments this year. This is expected to include his five-year term in his third norm-breaking term as President Xi Jinping, which eliminated all term limits and allowed him to rule indefinitely.
