{"id":16586,"date":"2024-03-07T12:48:40","date_gmt":"2024-03-07T12:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/07\/china-slams-unfathomable-absurdities-of-us-trade-controls-as-it-hails-russia-ties\/"},"modified":"2024-03-07T12:48:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T12:48:40","slug":"china-slams-unfathomable-absurdities-of-us-trade-controls-as-it-hails-russia-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/07\/china-slams-unfathomable-absurdities-of-us-trade-controls-as-it-hails-russia-ties\/","title":{"rendered":"China slams \u2018unfathomable absurdities\u2019 of US trade controls as it hails Russia ties"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

China\u2019s top diplomat hit out at Washington\u2019s \u201cbewildering\u201d\u00a0trade policy during a news conference Thursday on the sidelines of\u00a0a political gathering in Beijing, where Chinese leaders have been championing high-tech development in the face of mounting curbs from Washington. <\/p>\n

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused the\u00a0US of \u201cdevising various tactics to suppress China\u201d and said Washington\u2019s \u201clengthening\u201d unilateral sanctions list had reached \u201cbewildering levels of unfathomable absurdity.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIf it gets jittery whenever it hears the word China, where is its confidence as a major country?\u201d Wang said in a response to a question about trade with the US and technological restrictions. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf it only wants itself to prosper, but denies other countries legitimate development, where is international fairness? If it persistently monopolizes the high end of the value chain and keeps China at the low end, where is fairness and competition?\u201d <\/p>\n

Wang made the comments during an annual Foreign Minister\u2019s briefing held during each \u201ctwo sessions\u201d gathering of China\u2019s rubber stamp legislature and its top political advisory body. Though highly choreographed, the more than hour-long engagement is a key opportunity for China\u2019s top diplomat to express the country\u2019s foreign policy vision directly to reporters from media around the world. <\/p>\n

In a stark contrast to his comments on the US, Wang praised China\u2019s burgeoning relationship and record trade with Russia \u2013 highlighting this near the top of his press conference when a Russian state media reporter was the first question taken from a foreign reporter. <\/p>\n

Wang\u2019s comments on the US come as Washington continues its drive to narrow the kinds of high-end technology that can be accessed by China. In October, the White House further reduced the types of semiconductors that US companies can sell in China as it aims to ensure American tech won\u2019t be used to bolster the Chinese military. <\/p>\n

The US has also enacted sanctions against Chinese actors over a host of issues in recent years, including allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang,\u00a0the illicit fentanyl trade and providing support for Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. <\/p>\n

Wang spoke during what has been a period of relative stability between the China and the US. Adopting a softer tone at times, Wang noted that there had been \u201csome improvements\u201d in the US-China relationship since a summit between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco last November. <\/p>\n

He called on Washington to work with Beijing \u201cto bring the relationship back on the track of stable, sound and sustainable development.\u201d <\/p>\n

What has been on the agenda at the meetings this week is China\u2019s drive to bolster its \u201cself-reliance and strength in science and technology,\u201d with Beijing sending a message that it will boost its self-reliance rather than sit back and wait for tech frictions with the US to improve. <\/p>\n

The government announced plans to increase its annual budget for science and technology by 10% to an unprecedented 370.8 billion yuan ($51.6 billion) \u2014 the biggest jump since 2019 after years of minimal growth. <\/p>\n

Russian relations<\/h2>\n

Wang also praised robust trade ties between China and Russia, which have deepened following the Kremlin\u2019s invasion of Ukraine and Moscow\u2019s subsequent economic isolation on the global stage. <\/p>\n

Bilateral trade between China and Russia hit a historic $240 billion last year, surpassing a target of $200 billion set by Xi and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in 2019 ahead of schedule. <\/p>\n

\u201cRussian natural gas is fueling numerous Chinese households and Chinese-made automobiles are running on Russian roads,\u201d Wang said. \u201cAll this shows the strong resilience and broad prospects of China-Russia mutually beneficial cooperation.\u201d <\/p>\n

Beijing\u2019s ties to Moscow have sparked deep suspicion in the West, including over concerns about China\u2019s position as the Kremlin\u2019s key economic lifeline. While China claims neutrality in the Ukraine conflict it has appeared unwilling to use its significant economic leverage to curb Russia\u2019s aggression and has not condemned the invasion. <\/p>\n

During the briefing, Wang repeated China\u2019s call for peace talks to avoid an \u201cunthinkable\u201d escalation and deterioration of the conflict. He also reiterated past rhetoric framing China\u2019s relationship with Russia as a responsible one. <\/p>\n

Maintaining and growing the China-Russia relationship is a \u201cstrategic choice\u201d by the two sides based on their fundamental interests and is also \u201cwhat we must do to keep pace with the trend of the world,\u201d Wang said. <\/p>\n

\u201cChina and Russia have forged a new paradigm of major country relations that differs entirely from the obsolete Cold War approach on the basis of non-alliance, non-confrontation and not targeting any third party,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

Tensions in Asia<\/h2>\n

The diplomat also addressed simmering tensions in the disputed South China Sea where non-lethal but increasingly tense clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels in recent months have raised concerns about the risk of conflict, which could then embroil the United States, a Philippine mutual defense ally. <\/p>\n

Those flared again Tuesday when the Philippines Coast Guard accused Chinese vessels of executing \u201cdangerous maneuvers\u201d to impede and obstruct a resupply mission in contested waters in the South China Sea. <\/p>\n

Despite an international tribunal rejecting China\u2019s claim of historic rights to the bulk of the sea, it has\u00a0continued to militarize islands and maintains a large presence of coast guard and fishing vessels to enforce its claims. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the face of deliberate infringement, we will take justified actions to defend our rights in accordance with the law. In the face of unwarranted provocation, we will respond with prompt and legitimate countermeasures,\u201d\u00a0Wang said Thursday. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe also urge certain countries outside the region, not to make provocations, excite or stir up troubles,\u201d he said, in an apparent jab at the US presence in the region. <\/p>\n

The foreign minister\u2019s comments on Taiwan also caught the notice of those closely watching for any evolution of Chinese policy on Taiwan during the \u201ctwo sessions\u201d meeting. <\/p>\n

China\u2019s ruling Communist Party claims the self-governing democracy as its territory, despite never having controlled it. It has not ruled out the use of force to retake the island, which maintains close unofficial ties with the US. <\/p>\n

Some observers had noted that a line in a report delivered by Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday proclaimed that China would advance the cause of \u201cChina\u2019s reunification\u201d instead of saying \u201cpeaceful reunification\u201d as it has been written at times in the past. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, when responding to a question about Taiwan\u2019s recent election of Lai Ching-te, whose party views Taiwan as a de facto sovereign nation under threat from China, Wang specifically called for the support of \u201cpeaceful reunification.\u201d <\/p>\n

He also reiterated staid language that \u201cwhoever in the world\u201d supports Taiwan independence will get \u201cburned for playing with fire.\u201d <\/p>\n

This story has been updated.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China\u2019s top diplomat hit out at Washington\u2019s \u201cbewildering\u201d\u00a0trade policy during a news conference Thursday on the sidelines of\u00a0a political gathering in Beijing, where Chinese leaders have been championing high-tech development in the face of mounting curbs from Washington. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused the\u00a0US of \u201cdevising various tactics to suppress China\u201d and said Washington\u2019s <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":16587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16586","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}