China welcomes US competition but is not afraid of confrontation, Wang Yi says

Beijing welcomes mutually beneficial cooperation and healthy competition with the United States but is not afraid of confrontation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

“China’s attitude is consistent and clear,” Wang said on Monday. “Dialogue is OK, but it should be equal; cooperation is welcome, but it should be reciprocal; competition is not harmful, but it should be healthy. [China] is not afraid of confrontation and will [persist] to the end.”

The comments were made at a symposium in Beijing on China’s diplomacy, two weeks after the US hosted a democracy summit without China and announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China over the country’s human rights record.

Both moves were heavily criticised by the Chinese government, which has responded by accusing the US over human rights issues, championing what it says are democratic aspects of its own political system and arranging its own “democracy forum” days before the one led by Washington.

Noting that 2022 would be 50 years since former US president Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China that broke the ice between the two countries, Wang said on Monday that Beijing and Washington should again work to achieve a thaw.

China was committed to “steady progress” to “promote the return of the US’ China policy to rationality”, he said.

The speech outlined China’s diplomacy priorities for the next year, listing the Olympics as the top item and briefly covering Beijing’s plans for its ties with Russia and European nations before turning last to US-China relations.

Wang said the latest tensions over Taiwan had been caused by the Taiwanese government’s attempts to “rely on the United States for independence” and the US and other countries trying to “use Taiwan to control China”.

Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, to be brought into its fold by force if necessary. Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have been high, with Beijing sending record numbers of warplanes close to the island to put pressure on its government and the United States giving growing backing for Taiwan’s international participation. Taiwanese representatives attended the US-led democracy summit.

Wang said China had taken countermeasures and highlighted Nicaragua’s decision this month to switch its diplomatic relations from Taiwan to Beijing.

The Chinese foreign ministry also this month released a report on what it said were the deficiencies and abuses of democracy in the US.

Russia and China, by contrast, were “united like a mountain”, Wang said, before expressing hope that Beijing would strengthen high-level strategic communication with Europe. Its relations with the European Union have deteriorated since the start of the year over issues including human rights accusations against China and some European countries’ contact with Taiwan.

China had played a constructive role to support Afghanistan’s “healthy development” after the Taliban seized power, and carried out mediation to seek peace in Myanmar, Wang added.

Pang Zhongying, a distinguished professor of international studies at Ocean University of China, said that relations between China and its neighbours had changed dramatically, mainly because of the coronavirus pandemic and the US’ adjustment of its strategy in the region, requiring China to work on those relationships.

“There are still a lot of challenges in relations with neighbouring countries, and a clear shift in China’s relationship with them,” Pang said. “This speech by Wang shows that these relationships are important to China.”

Additional reporting by Ben Zhao