China-U.S. ties determined by common interests, responsibilities, friendship: FM

(ECNS) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Tuesday the U.S. perception and views of China are seriously distorted.

Qin made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the first session of the 14th National People's Congress.

The U.S. regards China as its primary rival and a bigger geopolitical challenge and the result is that the U.S.-China policy has entirely deviated from the rational and sound track, Qin said.

He said the so-called “competition" means to contain and suppress China in all respects and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game. "The U.S. talks a lot about following rules. But imagine two athletes competing in an Olympic race. If one athlete, instead of focusing on giving one's best, always tries to trip or even injure the other, that is not fair competition but malicious confrontation and a foul!"

He noticed that the so-called “establishing guardrails” and “not seeking conflict” simply means that China should not respond in words or action when slandered or attacked. That is just impossible!

He pointed out that if the U.S. does not hit the brake but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict. "Who will bear the catastrophic confrontation consequences? Such competition is a reckless gamble with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity. Naturally, China is firmly opposed to all this," he said.

If the U.S. has the ambition to make itself great again, it should also have a broad mind for the development of other countries. Containment and suppression will not make America great, and they will not stop the rejuvenation of China.

The China-U.S. relationship should be determined by the common interests and shared responsibilities of the two countries and by the friendship between the Chinese and American peoples, rather than by U.S. domestic politics or the hysterical neo-McCarthyism. 

He said he hopes the U.S. government will listen to the calls of the two peoples, rid of its strategic anxiety of “threat inflation”, abandon the “zero-sum” Cold War mentality, and refuse to be hijacked by “political correctness.”

"We hope that the U.S. will honor its commitments and work with China to explore the right way to get along with each other to the benefit of both countries and the entire world," he said.