Source: Global Times Published: 2019-1-18
US Vice President Mike Pence's criticism of China was an act of libel and the US is the most unqualified country to wag a finger at China when it comes to international rules, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Thursday.
Hua made the remarks after Pence criticized China in front of about 180 US ambassadors at the Global Chiefs of Mission Conference on Wednesday.
Pence said that "in recent years China has chosen a path of disregard of the laws and norms that have kept the world safe and prosperous," according to a video released by the White House.
"We have put China on notice," Pence said.
Hua said at a press briefing on Thursday that the US maintains a double standard: "Use it when it serves the US interests and abandon it when it's not."
The US was therefore "the most unqualified country" to attack China on the topic of international rules.
Chinese experts pointed out that the repeated US criticism of China is harmful to stable China-US ties.
Liu Weidong, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of American Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday that Pence was only repeating old criticisms and accusations against China, nothing new.
He noted that recent US moves, including the arrest of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou in Canada, all serve the trade negotiations with China, in total disregard of international norms and rules. "This is a conventional strategy that the US deploys to pressure their negotiating partners."
Liu pointed out the US itself never abides by international rules, arbitrarily launching unilateral sanctions and wars against other countries, as well as withdrawing from international organizations to escape from its responsibilities as a superpower.
"The US has been groundlessly criticizing and attacking China's policies concerning debt, trade, the South China Sea, international rules and religious freedom for some time, against which the facts stand in complete rebuttal. Even many insightful figures in the US have criticized such behavior," Hua told the press conference.
Hua referred to an article by Stephen Roach, a senior research fellow at Yale University and former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, published by Bloomberg on Wednesday.
The article said that "America's case against China is based on anecdotes and shaky evidence that don't stand up to serious scrutiny. As a trade war now morphs into a cold war, the current US administration would be wise to stop relying on such 'alternative facts' to wage its battles."
Complexity, difficulty
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is scheduled to visit the US on January 30 and 31 to discuss trade issues with the US side, Gao Feng, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, told a routine press briefing on Thursday.
Diao Daming, an American studies expert at Renmin University in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday that negative voices from US conservative hard-liners about China kept arising during the two countries' trade negotiations, revealing the complexity and difficulty of China-US relationship.
"The leaders of the two countries should work hard to promote bilateral ties on the basis of coordination, cooperation and stability to maintain stable development," Diao said.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the China-US diplomatic ties.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in an interview with the People's Daily on Thursday about the anniversary that "China and the US share more mutual interests than divergences and China-US diplomatic relations should not be affected by prejudice and misunderstandings."
The US should not release fragmented messages to pressure China through politicians' speeches or other approaches as this is harmful to the stability of bilateral ties, Diao noted.
Diao Daming is a senior fellow of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China.