China’s ambassador to US says it is ‘dangerous to advocate confrontation’
It is also ‘wishful thinking’ to believe ‘political or cultural genetic engineering could change China’s DNA’, Cui Tiankai says
It is dangerous to advocate confrontation in relations between the United States and China, and wishful thinking to believe Beijing will change the nature of its politics, China’s ambassador in Washington was quoted as saying by state media on Thursday.
While US President Donald Trump made a largely successful and controversy-free visit to China late last year, he has repeatedly threatened to get tough on what he see as unfair Chinese trade practices, and has called on Beijing to do more to rein in its nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea.
On Tuesday, Dan Coats, the director of US national intelligence, warned that Chinese cyber-espionage and cyberattack capabilities would continue to support Beijing’s national security and economic priorities.
Speaking at an embassy reception for the Lunar New Year, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said that while the two countries did have their differences, what was more important was that their common interests continued to grow.
Sino-US ties “should be characterised by overall cooperation”, Xinhua quoted him as saying.