Qin Gang, China's new foreign minister, has warned of inevitable "confrontation and conflict" between the U.S. and China unless the U.S. changes course.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul called the foreign minister's comments "inflammatory."
In statements released this week by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qin criticized American policies, questioning President Joe Biden's assertion that the U.S. seeks competition with China but not conflict. McCaul responded to Qin's statements by urging the Biden administration to answer with strength.
"China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s comments are incredibly inflammatory and reveal the CCP’s intent to challenge the status quo," McCaul told the State Newswire. "We cannot tolerate this aggression and the admin should respond with strength. It is clear China continues to corrode the U.S./China relationship.”
Qin also criticized the U.S. for distorting its perception and views of China and regarding China as its primary rival and biggest geopolitical challenge. He argued the U.S. seeks to contain and suppress China in all respects, rather than engaging in fair competition, NBC News reported this week. He further emphasized that the future of the world depends on a healthy and stable China-U.S. relationship.
"We hope the U.S. government will listen to the calls of the two peoples, rid of its strategic anxiety of 'threat inflation,' abandon the zero-sum Cold War mentality, and refuse to be hijacked by 'political correctness,'" Qin said. "We hope that the United States will honor its commitments and work with China to explore the right way to get along with each other to the benefit of both countries and the entire world."
NBC News reported that Chinese foreign minister's news conference took place on the sidelines of the annual meeting of China's rubber-stamp legislature, where President Xi Jinping is expected to complete the biggest government reshuffle in a decade. Qin rebuked Washington's decision early last month to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, repeating Beijing's claims that it appeared over America by accident.
“Western countries led by the United States have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our country’s development,” the foreign minister said in the report. He also blamed the U.S. for the issues regarding Taiwan, as the U.S. is Taiwan's most important international backer.
“The U.S. bears unshirkable responsibility for the creation of the Taiwan issue,” Qin said.
NBC also reported that China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, and China has tried to appear neutral in that war. Beijing has not condemned Russian aggression or called it an invasion. Qin commented that China-Russia relations "must move steadily forward" as the world becomes more turbulent.
China has denied allegations that it is considering providing Russia with ammunition and artillery to aid their fight with Ukraine, NBC said.
