Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Chinese President Xi Jinping again issued a strong statement aimed directly at the United States (US) and its Western allies. This comes as Washington limits access to semiconductor trade with Beijing on national security grounds.
Earlier, at the National People’s Congress (NPC) forum, Xi said the US had blatantly implemented containment, siege and comprehensive suppression of China.
Meanwhile, at the moment of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which took place concurrently with the National People’s Congress (NPC), Xi asked China to become more independent so that it could develop its capabilities without needing to depend on the international community.
“China must have the courage to fight back because the country is facing enormous and complex changes in both the domestic and international landscape,” said the 69-year-old man, quoted by AFP, Tuesday (7/3/2023).
Earlier this week Xi vowed to increase China’s capacity and said the country should be able to fend for itself. This is mainly aimed at two sectors namely food and manufacturing.
“I always say there are two important areas for China: one is to protect our rice bowl, and the other is to build a strong manufacturing sector,” he said.
“As a large country of 1.4 billion people, we have to rely on ourselves… We cannot depend on the international market to save us.”
Xi’s remarks reaffirmed the statement by Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang, who openly claimed that the US intends to defeat China. Instead of a military conflict, Qin called the conflict that is being built by Uncle Sam’s country zero-sum game which means one side wins and the other side dies.
“If the US does not apply the brakes but continues to accelerate the wrong way, no guardrail can prevent the derailment of the rails, and there will inevitably be conflicts and confrontations,” he said in a press statement on the sidelines of the NPC.
Qin added by defending the close friendship between China and Russia, a relationship the West is closely watching in light of the war in Ukraine. He said the relationship “sets an example for global foreign relations”.
“With China and Russia working together, the world will have a driving force,” he said. “The more unstable the world is, the more important it is for China and Russia to continue to advance their relationship.”
“There is close contact between the leadership of the two countries, with the head of state relationship anchoring the relationship. The strategic partnership will definitely grow even stronger,” he added.
Sino-US relations have deteriorated sharply in recent years, and efforts to improve them were derailed earlier this year when the US shot down what it said was a Chinese spy balloon flying in US airspace. China claims the balloon is a research tool and the US is overreacting.
In addition, Washington has repeatedly accused Beijing of being the mastermind behind the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak, which has paralyzed world activities for the last 3 years. This accusation was also denied by China, saying that it would only believe in the scientific results carried out by the World Health Organization (WHO).
(luc/luc)
