China’s Foreign Minister has indicated that US-China relations have seriously deteriorated and warned that this could be the beginning of a conflict, writes the BBC.
«Containment and suppression will not make America great. It will not stop the rejuvenation of China,» Qin Gang said at his first official press conference as foreign minister.
The arrival of alleged Chinese spy balloons in US airspace has heightened tensions between the superpowers, despite previous efforts to strengthen ties. Gang said that the US has asked for security guarantees, but what it really wants is for China not to respond to provocations either verbally or through actions. He said:
«If the US does not put on the brakes and continues to roar down the wrong road, no amount of guardrails can stop the derailment and overturning, and it is bound to fall into conflict and confrontation. Who will bear its disastrous consequences ?»
China’s foreign minister added that the diplomatic crisis caused by the spy balloons could have been avoided if the US had followed the principle of the presumption of guilt.
Relations between the two superpowers deteriorated already during the administration of former US President Donald Trump. The countries continue to clash over various issues, including US military involvement in Asia, the Taiwan issue, and also the origin of Covid-19.
The foreign minister’s comments follow an unusually direct attack on the US by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi Jinping said that Western countries, led by the United States, are comprehensively suppressing, encircling, and restricting China, which has created severe challenges for the country. Gang stated that the crisis in Ukraine was caused by an «invisible hand», but did not name any specific country or person, and added that China does not supply weapons to any side and called for the resumption of peace talks. The minister said that there are two options: a truce must be reached in Ukraine, peace must be restored and political solutions must be found, or control over the conflict will be lost.
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