Speaking to reporters ahead of US Secretary Antony Blinken’s visit to China slated for this weekend, Wang said that while there is a competition between the two countries in such fields as economics and trade, there should be “no vicious zero-sum competition,” as well as no attempts to contain or suppress one another in the name of rivalry and deprive China of its legitimate right to development.
"This is not 'responsible competition,' but irresponsible bullying. It will only push the two countries towards confrontation and create a divided world," Wenbin stressed, according to Sputnik.
He called on the US to give up the illusion of dealing with China "from a position of strength," adding that both sides should bolster relations on the basis of mutual respect and equality, respect their difference in history, culture, social system and development, and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns.
Wang underscored that the two’s relationship “needs to serve an actual purpose and help provide solutions.” According to him, “What is unacceptable is to ask for communication and meanwhile damage the other side's interests. One can't say one thing and do another."
"China again urges the United States to deliver on [US] President [Joe] Biden's positive statements, stop interfering in China's internal affairs and damaging its interests, stop containing and suppressing China, and work with China to remove obstacles, create conditions and bring China-US relations gradually to the track of stable growth," the Chinese diplomat pointed out.
When asked about Blinken's China visit-related agenda, the spokesperson said that the two sides plan to exchange views on bilateral relations as well as pressing international and regional issues of mutual interest, among other things.
Blinken is arriving in Beijing this weekend in what will be his first trip to China as secretary of state, a visit that was delayed in February, when Washington tracked a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon in US airspace.
SKH/PR