Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: New Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has warned that ‘conflict and confrontation’ with the US was imminent if the latter did not change course
At his first press conference after assuming office, Gang severely criticised the American policy, warning of “catastrophic consequences” owing to Washington’s “reckless gamble.”
Gang, who until recently served as China’s ambassador to the US, and has a reputation of being a meticulous and successful diplomat abroad, adopted a much more aggressive tone after assuming the new role, warning the US over its treatment of the second-largest economic superpower in the world.
On the eve of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, Gang warned that if the US did not hit the brakes and kept moving in the wrong direction, tension and confrontation would undoubtedly exist.
He set the tone for China’s foreign policy in coming years, slamming the US for escalating bilateral tensions while defending Beijing’s tight relationship with Russia.
Relations between the US and China plummeted to the lowest point in decades, and tensions increased after American fighter planes shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over North America last month.
The Chinese foreign minister claimed that the US response to the alleged spy balloon was overplayed, leading to “a diplomatic crisis that could have been avoided.”
The episode, according to him, demonstrated how dangerously twisted the US perception of China as its primary foe and the most significant geopolitical threat.
“The US argues that while it does not seek confrontation, it seeks to compete with China. However, the US is just engaged in a general containment and suppression effort, which is a zero-sum game of life and death,” the Chinese foreign minister said.
“Containment and repression won’t make America great, and the US won’t block China’s renaissance,” he said, emphasizing that Taiwan was the “first red line that cannot be crossed” and the “basis of the political foundation of Sino-US relations.”
The Chinese Communist Party refuses to rule out using force to “reunify” Taiwan with mainland China, even though it has never had any physical authority over the island.
The Chinese foreign minister asked the US to refrain from meddling in China’s internal affairs and questioned why the US had adopted different stances on the Ukrainian and Taiwan crises.
“Why does the US tout its support for respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity while refusing to do the same for China concerning the Taiwan issue? Why does the US demand China stop supplying weapons to Russia while still doing business with Taiwan?”
