As a response to US President Joe Biden's remarks about China in his State of the Union speech Tuesday, China said that China doesn't shy away from or fear competition, but China opposes defining the whole China-US relations by competition.
(Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry)
Biden said in his speech that Washington seeks "competition, not conflict," but he also said that US investments in its alliances, military and advanced technologies meant that America was now in its strongest position in decades to compete with China and defend its interests.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that China has always believed that China-US relations are not a zero-sum game in which one gains or the other loses. The successes of China and the US represent opportunities rather than challenges to each other and the entire earth can fully support the development and common prosperity of both China and the US.
She added that China is not afraid of competition, but China does oppose defining the whole China-US relations by competition, smearing China in the name of competition, and restricting China's legitimate development rights even at the expense of global industrial and supply chains, which is not what a responsible great power should do.
In his speech, Biden also referred to the latest airship accident, in which a Chinese civil airship, mainly for meteorological purposes, affected by the Westerlies, deviated from its planned course and entered US airspace, saying if China "threatens" its sovereignty, the US will act to protect its country.
After China was informed of the entry of the Chinese airship, Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during which Wang called on the US side to handle the unexpected situation in a "cool-headed and professional manner," while the US then shot down the unmanned airship, disregarding China's repeated claims that the accidental entry is a force majeure and poses no threat to US personnel or national security.
Mao noted that a sound and stable China-US relationship serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples and is also the shared aspiration of the international community. China will handle China-US relations in accordance with the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and at the same time, China will also firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests.
"The US should have an objective and rational understanding of China, pursue a positive and pragmatic policy towards China, and work with China to bring China-US relations back to the track of sound and stable development," Mao said.