BEIJING: The United States continues to have “misperceptions” of China and has not honoured some of its promises, despite some improvement in bilateral relations over the past few months, said China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (pic) on Thursday (March 7).
Wang was responding to questions from the media at an annual press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing Two Sessions in Beijing.
US-China ties have shown signs of stabilising after President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping held a summit in San Francisco in November 2023. But fundamental differences have yet to be resolved, from trade to tech sanctions, with each side viewing the other as strategic competitors.
While acknowledging that both countries had “made some progress” in improving relations since November, Wang said pointedly that in the US, “measures to suppress China have been continuously refreshed, and the list of unilateral sanctions keeps lengthening”.
“The labels which they are trying to pin on us have reached an unfathomable level,” he added.
“If the US keeps on saying one thing and doing another, where is the credibility of a great power?” he asked rhetorically.
“If the US insists on monopolising the high end of the value chain and only allows China to stay at the low end, where is the fair competition?”
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On Taiwan, Wang was resolute when asked about how the January presidential elections on the self-governing island – won by the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party – would escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
Dismissing it as “just a local election”, Wang said Beijing would “never allow Taiwan to split from the motherland”, and would continue to “strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification”.
More than 180 countries and international organisations have reaffirmed their adherence to the one-China principle after the elections, he noted, adding that any condoning of Taiwanese independence is a challenge to China’s sovereignty.
“I believe that it is only a matter of time before we see a family photo of the international community observing the one-China principle,” he told reporters.
At the press conference that lasted more than 90 minutes, Wang also addressed questions on China-Europe relations, its policy on the South China Sea dispute, and Beijing’s role in ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Wang said that he hopes ties between China and the European Union can improve, given that there is no “fundamental conflict of interest” between the two regions.
But the problem is that the EU has conflicting labels of China, Wang said, pointing to how the bloc had in one earlier official document referred to China as a “partner, competitor and systemic rival”.
“It’s like a car driving to an intersection and the red, green, and yellow lights turn on at the same time. So how do you drive this car?” Wang said, adding that he hopes that the EU and China can have a “green light” relationship.
“The common interests of both sides outweigh their differences. The correct positioning of China-EU relations should be that of partners, and the mainstream tone should be of cooperation,” he added.
Ties between China and the EU have been strained. Brussels has been inspecting how subsidies for green energy sectors in China, particularly for electric vehicles, might be undercutting competition in the bloc, which China has decried as protectionist.
Wang also said that starting from March 14, China will allow ordinary passport holders from Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland, Hungary and Ireland to enter without the need for a visa.
“We hope that more countries can do the same for Chinese citizens,” he said.
On the South China Sea, Wang warned that China has maintained “a high degree of restraint” in its approach towards what the country considers part of its territory.
“We advocate seeking solutions that are acceptable to all parties in a spirit of friendship and respect for historical and legal facts,” he said, adding that China will “not allow good intentions to be abused”.
The Philippines had summoned China’s deputy chief of mission in Manila on March 5 to protest against what it called “aggressive actions” by Chinese naval forces against a resupply mission for Filipino troops stationed on a South China Sea shoal.
Manila said that four crew members on one of its ships were injured after China used water cannons during a military resupply mission in the South China Sea on March 5.
Tensions had been growing between China and the Philippines. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration found that China’s claims of owning almost the entire South China Sea had no legal basis. Beijing has rejected the ruling. – The Straits Times/ANN
