China does not shy away from or fear competition, but opposes using competition to define China-US relations and the practice of containment and repression in the name of competition, a foreign ministry spokesperson said in Beijing on Monday.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a press briefing in response to questions about US Secretary of State Blinken's visit to China.
Blinken will discuss how to manage competition in a responsible manner and express concerns to China on issues related to Taiwan, fentanyl, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, a US State Department spokesperson was quoted as saying.
China has been developing China-US relations in accordance with three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation proposed by Chinse President Xi Jinping, Mao said.
“In the meantime, we are firmly committed to safeguarding our sovereignty, security and development interests,” she said. “China does not shy away from or fear competition, but opposes using competition to define China-US relations and the practice of containment and repression in the name of competition.”
China was willing to carry out communication and cooperation with the US in bilateral and multilateral areas on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, Mao said, but the US could not interfere in China's internal affairs or undermine China's interests while pursuing communication and cooperation.
“The Taiwan question is the core of China's core interests and the bedrock of the political foundation of China-US relations,” the spokesperson said. “It is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations. The US should not attempt to cross it at any time.”
China was the first country in the world to officially regulate fentanyl in its entirety and has been “vigorously carrying out international drug law enforcement cooperation under the framework of the UN Drug Convention,” Mao said.
US sanctions on Chinese institutions have severely affected and limited China's drug fighting capability, the spokesperson said.
“The US should also deeply reflect on its failure in drug control instead of merely shifting the blame,” Mao said.
On the Ukraine issue and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, China was committed to political settlement and peace talks, Mao said, and opposed words and deeds that escalated tensions.
“We hope that the United States will work with China to meet each other halfway, adhere to the tone of dialogue rather than confrontation and win-win rather than zero-sum exchanges, and take concrete actions to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state so as to bring China-US relations back to the track of sound and stable development,” she said.
(Compiled by Chen Xirui, Video produced by Ye Dangqiang)