China says there will 'surely be conflict' with US if Washington does not change path
BEIJING - China's foreign minister has blamed the US for rising tensions between Washington and Beijing and said if the US does not change its path there will "surely be conflict and confrontation."
The US had been engaging in suppression and containment of China rather than competition, China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang told reporters at a news conference in Beijing on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting.
"The United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted," Qin said, adding "It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge. This is like the first button in the shirt being put wrong."
Qin said the US should play by the rules it promotes. He said the US was establishing guardrails for relations with China and was not seeking conflict, but what this meant in practice was that China was not supposed to respond with words or actions when slandered or attacked.
"That is just impossible," Qin said. "If the United States does not hit the brake, and continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailment, which will become conflict and confrontation. And who will bear the catastrophic consequences?"
Qin said the US policy towards China was "a reck
less gamble," with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two countries' people and even the future of humanity.
Relations between the superpowers have been tense for years due to a number of issues including Taiwan, trade and Ukraine. But they worsened last month amid a controversy over a balloon flying over the US which Washington shot down, saying it was a Chinese spy balloon.
Washington's handling of the balloon incident created a diplomatic crisis that could have been avoided, Qin said.
"If the United States has the ambition to make itself great again, it should also have a broad mind for the development of other countries," he said.
"Containment and suppression will not make America great. It will not stop the rejuvenation of China." - – REUTERS.