Chinese FM Wang Yi says attempts to defame Communist party doomed to fail; Beijing no threat to US

China on Friday said that any attempt by the US to subvert its political system and defame the Communist party is "doomed to fail", asserting that an attack on the country's ruling party is an attack on the 1.4 billion Chinese people.

Addressing a virtual address hosted by Asia Society and the Asia Society Policy Institute, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China is not a "threat" to the US.

“China-US relations have spiralled down to the lowest level since the establishment of diplomatic ties 41 years ago. This is not something that we would like to see because clearly it is not in the interest of the Chinese and American peoples, nor is it helpful when global efforts are needed to overcome the difficulties,” he said.

China “was not, is not and will not be a threat to the United States,” Wang, also a State Councillor, said. Some US politicians, out of ideological bias, seek to defame the Communist Party of China (CPC), Wang said.

“It is the constitutionally recognised ruling party of China and has close bond and shared future with Chinese people. An attack on CPC is an attack on 1.4 billion Chinese people. So, it is not going to succeed. It is doomed to fail,” he said.

In recent months, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has attacked the CPC several times, describing it as a "rogue actor."

In June, Pompeo, in a scathing attack on the Chinese government, said that the CPC wants to undo all the progress the free world has made and adopt a new set of rules and norms that accommodate Beijing.

In his speech, Wang said that Washington and Beijing have a deeply interwoven interest and neither can do without the other, remodel the other or replace the other.

“The bilateral relationship is no zero-sum game and the success of one does not have to entail the other’s failure,” he said.

Wang reiterated the importance of China and the US restarting dialogue, returning bilateral relations to the right track and rebuilding mutual trust.

He said that the two countries can cooperate in areas of COVID-19 response, economic recovery and climate change.

He said that if the US’ China policy were to remodel or even subvert China, “it would not be achievable, it would be a mission impossible and it leads nowhere”.

The right approach is to respect each other's political system and development paths, continue to maintain peaceful coexistence and promote win-win cooperation, he said.

“China and the US systems are chosen by their people. The systems are deeply rooted,” he said.

Wang said it is regrettable to see senior US officials “pointing fingers” at China with no evidence to support their accusations.

“They are merely irresponsible presumptions of guilt and emotional lashing out. The fundamental reason behind all this is that some US politicians have strategic miscalculations about China,” he said.

Wang said that the US’ attempts to build an international coalition against China will also not succeed.

“Overwhelming countries do not want to take sides let alone forced confrontation with China. These efforts will lead nowhere,” he said.

China claims most of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims.

Referring to the US-China tensions over the disputed South China Sea, he said: “On maritime issues, we need to strive to turn frictions into cooperation”.

Wang said there has never been a threat to freedom of navigation and over flights in the South China Sea as alleged by the US and other countries.

“There has never been a single instance where normal navigation was impeded. China’s position is crystal clear. We will continue to work with other countries to maintain the freedom of navigation and overflights under international law,” he said.

China will speed up efforts to finalise a code of conduct with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, Wang said, adding that such a code of conduct will not affect the lawful interest of outside countries.

“China is open for a candid dialogue with the US side on maritime issues. This door remains open,” he said.

On trade, Wang stressed the need to replace confrontation and sanctions with dialogue and consultation.

“China-US trade is mutually beneficial in nature. What drives trade is market demand, not imposed deals. There are no winners in trade wars,” he stressed.

The Chinese minister said that pressuring others with tariffs would only boomerang and the two sides need to remove man-made barriers and instil positive expectations for the sound development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

The year 2020 witnessed the greatest damage to the international order and relations, Wang noted.

Wang said that unilateralism is jeopardising international cooperation.

“The go-it alone approach and walking away from international commitment have fractured and crippled the international system,” he said, adding that “we see McCarthyism re-surging and jeopardising normal international exchanges”.

McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason, especially when related to communism, without proper evidence.

“Those with radical and entrenched political bias seek to label and stigmatise open and lawful political parties and institutions of other countries, and use ideology to disrupt or even sever normal international engagement aiming at starting a new Cold War and forming a new iron curtain. All these risks and challenges facing us are unprecedented,” Wang added.