China Minister Criticizes U.S.

"BEIJING -- China's foreign minister warned that the U.S. strategy toward China risked plunging the countries into a conflict, in remarks a day after Chinese leader Xi Jinping unleashed a similar verbal salvo at Washington, signaling a deepening rift between the world's two largest economies.

In a news conference Tuesday on the sidelines of China's annual gathering of its National People's Congress in Beijing, Qin Gang said the Biden administration was insincere in saying it wants to preserve relations, and warned the U.S. against engaging in what he called new McCarthyism.

The blunt remarks by Mr. Qin, who until recently served as Beijing's ambassador to Washington, followed a similar broadside Monday from Mr. Xi, who criticized what he termed a U.S. policy of "all-round containment, encirclement and suppression" of China.

Mr. Xi's comments were a rare instance of China's top official taking direct aim at the U.S., and came after weeks of tensions between the two countries since the U.S. downing of what it says was a Chinese surveillance balloon that traveled through American airspace.

Strains between Beijing and Washington also have been exacerbated by Mr. Xi's support for Russian leader Vladimir Putin. China has issued general calls for an end to the conflict in Ukraine, but has maintained warm relations with Moscow, and helped blunt the impact of U.S. and European sanctions through robust trade ties.

Washington has warned China against supplying military assistance to Russia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said intelligence showed Beijing was considering such aid.

On Tuesday, Mr. Qin said "China and Russia have found a path of major country relations featuring strategic trust and good neighborliness." Such ties, he said, are especially important "the more unstable the world becomes."

In contrast, Mr. Qin said: "If the United States does not hit the brakes. . .no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation."

U.S. competition with China amounts to "a reckless gamble," he added.

It isn't the first time China has warned the U.S. about the risks of worsening relations, but Chinese officials have tended to speak more elliptically about the potential for conflict.

On the issue of Taiwan, the self-governing island over which China claims jurisdiction, Mr. Qin contrasted the U.S. providing weapons to Taiwan with U.S. warnings that China should refrain from giving lethal aid to Russia. While Washington doesn't recognize Taiwan diplomatically, the U.S. has long supplied Taiwan with weapons to defend itself in event of an attack by China.

"Why does the U.S. ask China not to provide weapons to Russia while it keeps selling arms to Taiwan?" he said, adding that China hadn't sent weapons to Russia." [1]

1. World News: China Minister Criticizes U.S.
Spegele, Brian.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 08 Mar 2023: A.9.