BEIJING – China yesterday slammed what it termed the “forming of cliques” targeting certain countries.
In an era of globalisation, forming “cliques” with ideologies and targeting specific countries undermines international order and will lead nowhere, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.
The statement comes against the backdrop of the first virtual meeting held by the US with its allies Japan, Australia and India – a loosely-knit group called the Quad – apparently to “contain” China’s rising influence.
The Quad leaders held the meeting last week, with US President Joe Biden calling for a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.
Zhao also asked Washington to treat China and Sino-US ties in an “objective way and promote the healthy development of bilateral ties”, the Anadolu Agency quoted the state-run CGTN news channel as reporting.
China is always a builder of global peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order, he said.
He was reacting to a statement by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who said America intends to foster a “credible deterrence” against China ahead of his visit to Japan and South Korea.
Austin is accompanying Secretary of State Antony Blinken on their first foreign trip to South Korea and Japan this week. – Bernama, March 16, 2021
