Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng tells UN General Assembly to oppose ‘hegemonism’
- ‘A small number of countries have arbitrarily imposed illegal and unilateral sanctions,’ vice-president says, using language often used to criticise Washington
- Yet impact of China’s messaging could be overshadowed by decision of Xi Jinping to skip the event and not send top diplomat Wang Yi
The remarks by Vice-President Han Zheng at the UN General Assembly, delivered in measured tones, did not mention the US by name, using instead a host of oft-used phrases to criticise Washington.
The speech comes as US-China rivalry increasingly spreads beyond such traditional points of difference as military posturing, infrastructure and tariffs to include values and global vision.
“China opposes hegemonism, power politics, unilateralism and Cold War mentality,” Han said. “A small number of countries have arbitrarily imposed illegal and unilateral sanctions, severely undermining the harmony and stability of international relations. The international community should jointly resist such acts.”
Han also called for human rights and democracy, as defined by China, urging the global community to “oppose politicisation and double standards, in particular the use of human rights and democracy as a political tool to interfere in the affairs of other countries”.