BEIJING LABELS QUAD ‘EXCLUSIVE CLIQUE’ THAT IS WORKING AGAINST CHINA

BEIJING: The four-member Quad is an “exclusive clique” that is rallying countries to work against China, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday a day after Dhaka criticised Beijing for saying any engagement with the bloc would damage ties with Bangladesh.

The Chinese ministry indirectly criticised India for being part of the Quad, which includes the US, Japan and Australia, and said New Delhi knows better what the group is all about.

On Tuesday, Bangladesh’s foreign minister AK Abdul Momen was quoted by local media as saying that the remarks of the Chinese ambassador in Dhaka, Li Jiming, were “very unfortunate and aggressive”.

Li had said on Monday that Bangladesh’s engagement in the Us-led Indo-pacific strategy would substantially damage Dhaka’s relations with Beijing.

It could not be immediately ascertained whether Bangladesh had been approached by any Quad member to join the bloc.

The Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson, Hua Chunying, did not respond to Momen’s comments directly, but described the Quad as a “clique” out to harm China.

“I haven’t seen any reports on this issue (Momen’s comments) you mentioned. China and Bangladesh are very good neighbours, developing bilateral relations based on mutual trust and peaceful co-existence, and have been firmly supporting each other,” she said.

“About the Chinese ambassador’s remarks on the Quad which involve Japan, US, India and Australia, we have made our position clear on this issue. We believe it is an exclusive clique against China and trying to rally countries around China to work against China,” Hua added.

In March, after the first Quad leaders’ summit, China had said the bloc “will end up nowhere” if it does not abandon its “cold war mentality”.