CHINA CONDEMNS US 'COLD WAR MENTALITY' ON NATIONAL SECURITY
Chinese President Xi Jinping has enjoyed a cordial relationship with Donald Trump |
China has condemned the "Cold War mentality" of the White
House after the publication of a new US national security policy.
The document labels China and Russia as "rival powers" and
lays out a number of potential threats they pose.
The new strategy said Beijing and other governments were determined to
challenge American power.
But China's foreign ministry criticised the strategy report, saying
Washington should "abandon outdated notions".
Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: "No country or report will succeed
in distorting facts or deploying malicious slander.
"We urge the US side to stop intentionally distorting China's
strategic intentions and to abandon outdated ideas of Cold War mentality and
the zero-sum game."
China has condemned the "Cold War mentality" of the White
House after the publication of a new US national security policy.
The document labels China and Russia as "rival powers" and
lays out a number of potential threats they pose.
The new strategy said Beijing and other governments were determined to
challenge American power.
But China's foreign ministry criticised the strategy report, saying
Washington should "abandon outdated notions".
Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: "No country or report will succeed
in distorting facts or deploying malicious slander.
"We urge the US side to stop intentionally distorting China's
strategic intentions and to abandon outdated ideas of Cold War mentality and
the zero-sum game."
Russia also responded to the new strategy by saying it "cannot
accept" that it is treated as a threat.
It also criticised what it said was the "imperialist
character" of the document.
TRUMP’S PRAGMATIC VIEW OF
TROUBLED WORLD
In the new US national security strategy, China and Russia are said to
"challenge American power, influence and interests, attempting to erode
American security and prosperity".
"They are determined to make economies less free and less fair, to
grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their
societies and expand their influence."
The new national security strategy contains a range of claims about
China, including:
China and Russia "are developing advanced weapons and
capabilities" that could threaten the US
Competitors such as China "steal US intellectual property valued
at hundreds of billions of dollars"
China and Russia are investing in the developing world "to expand influence
and gain competitive advantages" over the US
In Europe, China is gaining a foothold "by expanding its unfair
trade practices and investing in key industries"
China also "seeks to pull the [Central America] region into its
orbit through state-led investments and loans"
Some of the claims have been made before, but the new document casts
them as part of a battle for dominance.
Analysis: Friends or rivals?
The BBC's Robin Brant in
Shanghai
First at his golf club in Florida, then at the Forbidden City in
Beijing, President Trump has taken every opportunity to say how close a
friendship he's built with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
But now the official version is rivals - not friends. The
classification sends a clear message about America's changing stance towards a
rising China, a China that's made no secret of its plan to significantly expand
its navy, assert more regional authority and expand its influence further
abroad through a massive state-backed investment push.
Economic rivalry is crucial to this dynamic. The Trump administration
is investigating China for what it alleges is the dumping of artificially cheap
aluminium products on US markets. It has threatened to do the same on steel
exports.
Ahead of the document's publication, there were reports that the
National Security Strategy would classify China as an economic
"aggressor", but that did not appear in the final version.
Strategy documents are often released with little ceremony, but
President Trump appeared at a special event to mark the release of the new
strategy.
In a speech about his new strategy, Mr Trump said the US faced a new
era of competition, and that China and Russia were the primary threats to US
economic dominance.
But, he said, the US must attempt to build a "great partnership
with them".
Mr Trump described "four pillars" to his new plan: protecting
the homeland, promoting American prosperity, demonstrating peace through
strength and advancing American influence.
The 68-page document, which White House officials began work on 11
months ago, suggests a return to Mr Trump's campaign promise of "America
First".
In his speech, Mr Trump referred to his election victory, saying that
in 2016 voters chose to "Make America Great Again".
Previous American leaders had "drifted" and "lost sight
of America's destiny" he said, standing before a backdrop of American
flags.
"Now less than one year later I am proud to report that the entire
world has heard the news and has seen the signs," he said.
"America is coming back and America is coming back strong."
He also outlined his campaign promise to build a wall on the border
with Mexico, as well as reform of the immigration visa system.
The new policy stresses economic security but does not recognise
climate change as a national security threat.
His predecessor, Barack Obama, in 2015 declared climate change an
"urgent and growing threat to our national security".
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