China says it will not seek hegemony as it becomes stronger
Updated 18:32, 20-Jul-2020
CGTN

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Monday that the country will not seek hegemony as it becomes stronger, urging the United States to discard the Cold War mentality and zero-sum game mindset. 

"If someone insists on asking what China wants to rewrite, the answer is that China will not follow the old path that a powerful country is bound to seek hegemony," Wang said. "It is firmly committed to pursuing a new path of peaceful development and win-win cooperation through joint efforts with other countries." 

Wang made the remarks at a regular press briefing in response to recent comments by U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on relations between the U.S. and China. 

Esper said Beijing wants to "rewrite the rules of the international order that have served the nations of the world – including China – so well since the end of World War II," according to a news release on the website of the U.S. Department of Defense. 

"A rising China, by itself, would not concern U.S. leaders, but a rising China under the governance of the Chinese Communist Party is a concern," the article said.

Zhang Jun (C, front), China's permanent representative to the United Nations, addresses a Security Council meeting on the situation in Syria at the UN headquarters in New York, February 28, 2020. /Xinhua

Zhang Jun (C, front), China's permanent representative to the United Nations, addresses a Security Council meeting on the situation in Syria at the UN headquarters in New York, February 28, 2020. /Xinhua

Wang told reporters that some people in the U.S. always view relations with China from perspectives based on a Cold War mentality and zero-sum game mindset and always attempt to suppress China. "This is an important reason that China-U.S. relations are facing severe challenges," he said. 

China is a defender of international order, whereas the U.S. keeps withdrawing from international organizations and agreements, he said. 

"The international community sees very clearly who the troublemaker is," said the spokesperson. 

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has pulled the country from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), the Paris climate agreement, the Iran nuclear deal and the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). It has also announced decisions to quit the Open Skies Treaty (OST) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Chinese medical experts and Italian doctors pose for a photo in Padua, Italy, March 18, 2020. The Chinese experts are Italy to help with the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. /Xinhua

Chinese medical experts and Italian doctors pose for a photo in Padua, Italy, March 18, 2020. The Chinese experts are Italy to help with the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. /Xinhua

Commenting on Washington's prejudices against the Communist Party of China (CPC), Wang said the Party is the "fundamental guarantee" for China's development and rise and a "positive force" for maintaining world peace and promoting common development.

"The U.S. should respect and accept the reality that the CPC is supported by the Chinese people," he said, urging Washington to stop sowing discord between the CPC and the Chinese people.

"We urge the U.S. to discard its Cold War and zero-sum mindset and ideological prejudices and view China and China-U.S. relations correctly," he said, calling for efforts to make bilateral ties return to the right track featured by coordination, cooperation and stability.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said earlier this month that relations between the world's two largest economies were facing the most serious challenges since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1979.

(Cover: National flags of China and the U.S. are hung up on the lamp posts in front of the Tian'anmen Rostrum in Beijing, November 8, 2017. /China Daily)