‘Chinese people have stood up’: Beijing says it has no fear of US-EU aims to counter rising China
- Both the Chinese diplomatic mission at EU and the foreign ministry have rebuked Western powers after they launched trade and technology council
- Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe told Asean meeting China was determined to protect sovereignty over Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and South China Sea
A statement by the Chinese diplomatic mission at the EU said China was standing up and was not afraid of threats, saying the EU-US summit had gone far beyond the “norm of developing bilateral relations … It is filled with an outdated cold war mentality and bloc politics rhetoric”.
“China is no longer … what it was in the past. The Chinese people have stood up. Intimidation will never work on us,” the statement said. “We will stay on the course of peaceful development and at the same time, firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.”
A separate statement by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian went further, saying the US and EU should reflect on the problems they faced instead of pointing the finger at China.
“The calls from US and EU on competition, cooperation and rivalry means they are seeking advantage from China while harming China’s interest,” he said.
Zhao said China upheld multilateral trade, and that the US and EU should not criticise China’s trade practices.
He also said the two sides should not exaggerate China’s challenge and form a small circle against China.