China denounces unfathomable absurdities of US trade controls, welcomes ties with Russia

Beijing
CNN
—

China's top diplomat criticized Washington's baffling trade policy during a news conference Thursday on the sidelines of a political gathering in Beijing, where Chinese leaders defended high-tech development in the face of Washington's growing restrictions.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused the United States of developing various tactics to suppress China and said Washington's expanding list of unilateral sanctions had reached mind-boggling levels of unfathomable absurdity. .

If he gets nervous every time he hears the word China, where is his confidence as a big country? Wang said in response to a question about trade with the United States and technology restrictions.

If it only wants to prosper, but denies other countries legitimate development, where is international fairness? If it constantly monopolizes the top of the value chain and keeps China at the bottom, where is the fairness and competition?

Wang made the comments during an annual briefing of foreign ministers held every two sessions of China's legislature and its top political advisory body. Although highly choreographed, the more than hour-long engagement represents a key opportunity for China's top diplomat to express the country's foreign policy vision directly to media journalists around the world.

In a sharp contrast to his comments on the United States, Wang praised China's burgeoning relations and record trade with Russia, highlighting this at the top of his news conference when a reporter from state media Russian was the first question asked of a foreign journalist.

Wang's comments on the United States come as Washington continues its efforts to restrict the types of high-end technology available to China. In October, the White House further reduced the types of semiconductors that U.S. companies can sell to China, in an effort to ensure that U.S. technology will not be used to bolster China's military.

The United States has also imposed sanctions against Chinese actors over a host of issues in recent years, including allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, the illicit trade in fentanyl and support for the invasion of China. Ukraine by Russia.

Wang spoke during what has been a period of relative stability between China and the United States. Adopting a softer tone at times, Wang stressed that U.S.-China relations have improved since the summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco last November.

He called on Washington to work with Beijing to return relations to a path of stable, healthy and sustainable development.

What was on the agenda of this week's meetings was China's desire to strengthen its autonomy and strength in science and technology, with Beijing sending a message that it would strengthen its autonomy rather than stand by. crossed and expect technological frictions with the United States must improve.

The government announced plans to increase its annual science and technology budget by 10 percent to an unprecedented 370.8 billion yuan ($51.6 billion), the largest increase since 2019. after years of minimal growth.

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Adam Renton

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China sets ambitious economic growth target for 2024

Wang also praised the strong trade ties between China and Russia, which deepened after the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine and Moscow's subsequent economic isolation on the world stage.

Bilateral trade between China and Russia reached a historic high of $240 billion last year, surpassing the $200 billion target set by Xi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2019 ahead of schedule.

Russian natural gas powers many Chinese homes, and Chinese-made automobiles travel on Russian roads, Wang said. All this shows the strong resilience and broad prospects of mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Russia.

Beijing's ties to Moscow have sparked deep suspicions in the West, not least because of concerns about China's position as a key economic lifeline for the Kremlin. Although China claims neutrality in the Ukraine conflict, it appears unwilling to use its significant economic leverage to curb Russian aggression and has not condemned the invasion.

During the briefing, Wang reiterated China's call for peace talks to avoid unthinkable escalation and deterioration of the conflict. He also reiterated past rhetoric describing the China-Russia relationship as a responsible one.

Maintaining and developing China-Russia relations is a strategic choice of both sides based on their core interests, and it is also what we must do to keep pace with the global trend, Wang said.

China and Russia have forged a new paradigm of major-country relations that differs entirely from the outdated Cold War approach of non-alliance, non-confrontation and non-third party targeting. he added.

The diplomat also addressed simmering tensions in the South China Sea, where non-lethal but increasingly tense clashes between Chinese and Philippine ships in recent months have raised concerns about the risk of conflict, which could then result in states -United, a mutual defense ally of the Philippines. .

These flared further on Tuesday when the Philippine Coast Guard accused Chinese ships of carrying out dangerous maneuvers to hamper and hinder a resupply mission in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

CNN journalists were aboard one of the Philippine Coast Guard ships and witnessed how a much larger force of Chinese Coast Guard vessels and boats from its shadowy maritime militia parked themselves in a smaller convoy of Philippine ships resupplying a remote military outpost.

Although an international court rejected China's claim to historic rights to most of the sea, it has continued to militarize the islands and maintains a strong presence of coast guard and fishing vessels to assert its claims.

In the event of a deliberate violation, we will take justified measures to defend our rights in accordance with the law. In the face of unwarranted provocation, we will respond with prompt and legitimate countermeasures, Wang said Thursday.

We also urge some countries outside the region not to make provocations, incite or stir up unrest, he said, in an apparent attack on the US presence in the region.

The foreign ministers' comments on Taiwan also caught the attention of those closely monitoring any developments in China's Taiwan policy during the meeting's two sessions.

China's ruling Communist Party claims autonomous democracy as its territory, although it has never controlled it. He does not rule out the use of force to retake the island, which has close unofficial ties with the United States.

Some observers noted that a line in a report presented Tuesday by Premier Li Qiang proclaimed that China would advance the cause of Chinese reunification instead of talking about peaceful reunification as has sometimes been written in the past.

On Thursday, responding to a question about Taiwan's recent election of Lai Ching-te, whose party views Taiwan as a de facto sovereign nation threatened by China, Wang specifically called for support for peaceful reunification.

He also reiterated the staid language that anyone in the world who supports Taiwan's independence will be burned for playing with fire.

This story has been updated.