Beijing bashes Trump
China angry over ‘selfish Cold War’ policy
THE Chinese government has attacked US President Donald Trump’s decision to label Beijing a strategic rival and called on Washington to “abandon a Cold War mentality” and accept China’s rise.
Mr Trump’s decision reflects a “victory of hardliners” in his administration, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It warned US-Chinese economic relations were likely to face “even more pressure and challenges”.
“We urge the United States to stop deliberately distorting China’s strategic intentions and abandon a Cold War mentality,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. “Otherwise it will injure others and damage itself.”
Mr Trump’s report hit a series of sore spots for Beijing. It affirmed ties with Taiwan, the self-ruled island the mainland government claims as its territory, and pledged to “re-energise our alliances” with south-east Asian governments, some of which have conflicts with China over claims to portions of the South China Sea.
The United States and China share one of the world’s biggest trading relationships and co-operate in areas from clean energy to public health.
But Beijing sees Washington as an obstacle to its ambitions to be East Asia’s dominant power, and strains over Taiwan, trade, technology policy and the South China Sea are growing.
“It is selfish to put your national interest above other countries’ interest and the mutual interest of the international community,” the Chinese Embassy in Washington said.
“The Chinese side is willing to have peaceful coexistence with all countries,” said the embassy statement. “The United States should also adapt and accept China’s development.”
US officials are uneasy about Beijing’s rising military spending – already the second-highest behind Washington. They see President Xi Jinping’s “belt and road initiative”, a project to build railways and other infrastructure across countries from Asia to Europe and Africa, as part of efforts to erode American influence and nurture a China-centred political structure.
Especially sensitive is Taiwan, the democratic island Beijing has declared a “core interest” over which it will go to war, if necessary.
Mr Trump’s report promises to “maintain our strong ties with Taiwan” and provide for its “legitimate defence needs”.
China has taken a tougher stance toward Taiwan since last year’s election of President Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to endorse Beijing’s contention that Taiwan is part of China. Chinese commentators speculate on the possible need for military steps to put pressure on Ms Tsai.
After Mr Trump signed a law that opened the way for US navy ships to visit Taiwan, a Chinese diplomat quoted by state media said the mainland would attack the day that happened.
Mr Trump’s report doesn’t change Washington’s official stance but might aggravate tensions if Taiwanese, who want formal independence, see it as sign of US support and “want to take advantage of it,” said Xiong Zhiyong, a US relations expert at China Foreign Affairs University. “The Chinese government is also anxious,” said Mr Xiong. He said the Chinese diplomat’s remark was a “warning out of real worry that something may happen unexpectedly”.
Ms Hua, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, urged the US to stick to diplomatic commitments on how to handle Taiwan. On Monday, Chinese warplanes flew around Taiwan in what the military said was a test of “ocean combat ability”. Taiwan’s defence ministry said Japan launched fighter planes to track them, but the Japanese government would not confirm that.
Mr Trump’s report promises to “re-energise our alliances” with governments including the Philippines and Vietnam, which have conflicting territorial claims with Beijing in the South China Sea.
It also pledges to expand military co-operation with India, which Beijing sees as a rival. The report emphasised economic security and repeated complaints that China steals technology and uses “economic inducements” to persuade other governments to serve its strategic interests.
It proposes restricting visas to prevent intellectual property theft by foreigners, particularly Chinese, who travel to the US to study science, engineering, maths and technology.
Foreign business groups in China report that companies are increasingly frustrated with market barriers and other restrictions they say violate Beijing’s free-trade promises.
The report is another abrupt turn in Mr Trump’s stance toward Beijing, which has veered between blistering criticism on trade and currency, and optimism about co-operation on North Korea and other issues.
“China seeks to displace the United States in the Indo-Pacific region, expand the reaches of its state-driven economic model, and reorder the region in its favour,” the report says. In April, Mr Trump announced he was setting aside complaints about trade and currency in hopes of winning Chinese co-operation on North Korea. (© Daily Telegraph, London)