Xi’s slams West: World doesn’t want hegemony
BEIJING/BOAO, CHINA: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for a rejection of hegemonic power structures in global governance, amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing over a widening range of issues including alleged human rights abuses.
Speaking at the annual Boao Forum for Asia, Xi criticised efforts by some countries to “build barriers” and “decouple”, which he said would harm others and benefit no one.
China has long called for reforms of the global governance system to better reflect a more diverse range of perspectives and values from the international community, including its own, instead of those of a few major nations.
It has also repeatedly clashed with the biggest stakeholders in world governance, particularly the US, over a range of issues from human rights to China’s economic influence over other countries. “The world wants justice, not hegemony,” Xi said in remarks broadcast to the forum.
“A big country should look like a big country by showing that it is shouldering more responsibility,” he said.
While Xi did not identify any country in his remarks, Chinese officials have in recent times referred to US “hegemony” in public criticisms of Washington’s global projection of power in trade and geopolitics.
China rejects accusations of abuses in Xinjiang
China’s government on Tuesday rejected accusations of abuses in the Xinjiang region after Human Rights Watch appealed for a UN investigation into possible crimes against humanity.
Accusations of forced labour or detentions in the northwestern region are “lies and false information concocted by antiChina forces,” said a foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin. He accused critics of trying to “undermine Xinjiang’s stability and security and curb China’s development.”
Human Rights Watch appealed to the UN Human Rights Commission to investigate reports of mass detention of Muslims, a crackdown on religious practices and other measures against minorities, calling them “crimes against humanity”.