Qin, who was as of not long ago China’s envoy to the US, developed a standing for being cautious and achieved representative while abroad.
However, in his first appearance as foreign minister at China’s annual parliamentary meeting, he used a far more combative tone and warned of the “catastrophic consequences” of Washington’s “reckless gamble” with how it treats China.
On the sidelines of the Beijing National People’s Congress, Qin stated, “If the United States does not hit the brakes, but continues to speed down the wrong path.
At the exceptionally prearranged occasion, Qin set the vibe for China’s international strategy for the approaching year and then some, castigating the US for rising reciprocal pressures and guarding Beijing’s nearby organization with Moscow.
Relations between the world’s two largest economies are at their lowest point in decades, and last month’s shooting down of a rumored Chinese spy balloon over North America by US fighter jets only heightened the situation.
Qin said on Tuesday that the United States overreacted in its response, resulting in “a diplomatic crisis that could have been avoided.”
“The US perception and views of China are seriously distorted,” Qin stated. It sees China as its main competitor and greatest geopolitical threat.
The United States asserts that it does not seek conflict but rather competition with China. However, the US’s so-called “competition” is really nothing more than a zero-sum game of life or death, he stated.
Qin stated, “Containment and suppression will not make America great, and the United States will not stop the revitalization of China.”
Competing forces The US-China rivalry as a great power has grown in recent years.
China has become increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad under Xi Jinping’s leadership, employing a more aggressive strategy to exert its influence and oppose the West.
Washington has also retaliated.
In order to contain Beijing’s growing influence, the US has strengthened ties with allies and partners under the Biden administration.
It has also worked to separate itself from China in new technologies, recently prohibiting the export of advanced chips to Beijing’s fury.
Qin slammed Washington for its Indo-Pacific strategy, saying that Washington was planning an “Asia-Pacific version of NATO,” advocating for decoupling, and forming exclusive blocks to cause conflict.
Asia should not experience another Cold War or crisis similar to that in Ukraine.
China’s relationship with the West has been further strained by its refusal to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and its growing partnership with Moscow. Beijing has defended its “rock-solid” ties with Russia while also attempting to portray itself as a neutral mediator of peace.
The Sino-Russian relationship, according to Qin on Tuesday, “does not pose a threat to any country in the world, nor will it be interfered with or sown discord in by any third party.”
He stated, “China and Russia must steadily advance their relations as the world becomes increasingly unstable.”
Qin referred to the issue of Taiwan as the “first red line that must not be crossed” and the “bedrock of the political foundation of Sino-US relations.”
Even though it has never been under its control, the Chinese Communist Party insists that Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, is part of its territory and will use force to “reunite” it with mainland China.
Qin questioned Washington’s divergent approaches to the issues of Taiwan and Ukraine on Tuesday and pleaded with the United States not to “interfere in China’s internal affairs.”
“Why does the United States talk about how it respects China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity when it comes to Taiwan but not when it comes to Ukraine? While China continues to sell arms to Taiwan, the United States asks China not to provide weapons to Russia. Qin stated
Will McCarthy come?
Qin’s comments come in the wake of rumors that Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy might meet in April.
According to Monday’s Financial Times, Tsai might meet McCarthy in California rather than Taiwan, as the US Speaker had initially suggested.
Monday, a spokesperson for the US State Department stated that he was “not aware of any confirmed travel” by the Taiwanese President, and the Foreign Ministry of Taiwan stated that it did not have any information to share regarding any potential US visit.
However, any encounter between Tsai and a senior US politician will undoubtedly provoke Beijing, escalating already-tense relations across the Taiwan Strait and between the United States and China.
Nancy Pelosi, McCarthy’s Democratic predecessor, made the first trip by a US Speaker in 25 years to Taipei in August, defying Beijing’s threats of retaliation.
Beijing responded by cutting off important lines of communication with the United States and staging unprecedented military exercises around Taiwan.
China’s Unfamiliar Service has since cautioned McCarthy not to visit Taiwan.
According to political scientist Wen-Ti Sung of the Taiwan Studies Program at Australia National University, Tsai’s potential meeting with McCarthy in California is not necessarily a “replacement or downgrade.”
He stated that it could instead be an “add-on,” implying that McCarthy could always visit Taiwan at a later time.
Taiwan must demonstrate to its Western partners that it is a responsible participant in the process if it is to normalize high-level American visits to Taiwan.
Sung stated, “Some may think that there is better timing than this moment to be seeking to have another US speaker visit Taiwan.”
He went on to say that a meeting in the United States might be “a very visual deliverable in the short term to show continued US support for Taiwan, regardless of change in party leadership in the legislature.”
Previously, Tsai visited Taipei’s diplomatic allies while transiting in the United States.
She made her most recent trip to the United States in 2019 and gave a speech in New York, which enraged Beijing.
Sung stated that no matter where Tsai meets with McCarthy, it will be provocative for China.
Beijing will be extremely dissatisfied and will protest vigorously regardless. So I surmise for them it will be a distinction in power, however not a distinction in kind. Any such high-level exchange, whether it takes place on US or Taiwanese soil, will not please Beijing.
