US, EU statement exhibits 'Cold War' mentality

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Friday lambasted a joint statement made by the United States and European Union that made groundless accusations about China over a series of issues including its domestic affairs.

"China, the US and the EU are all forces with important influence on world peace and stability and they bear significant responsibility for mankind's future. China strongly rejected the act of brazenly stoking up confrontations along ideological lines," Zhao told reporters at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

The statement, which followed talks in Washington between US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and the Secretary General of the European External Action Service Stefano Sannino, stressed the need for close contact to manage "competition and systemic rivalry" with Beijing.

Zhao said that behaviors such as defining nation-to-nation relations as a rivalry or jointly containing and suppressing a certain country come from a Cold-War mentality, which should have been discarded.

"All parties should stick to openness and cooperation, dialogue and consultation in order to provide more stability and positive energy for the world, instead of taking a backward step to revive the Cold War ghost," he said.

The spokesman dismissed the US and EU accusation of so-called human rights abuses in China, saying that they should reflect on their own severe problems such as systemic racism and should stop attacking other countries under the pretext of human rights issues.

In response to their concern at the so-called unilateral action across the Taiwan Straits, Zhao said that the Democratic Progressive Party authorities' engagement in provocative activities to seek independence in collusion with external forces is the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits. It is also the root cause of the current tension across the Straits, he said.

"The US and EU should abide by the one-China principle, exercise prudence and stop sending wrong signals to 'Taiwan independence' forces," he said, adding that China must take resolute responses against separatist activities and the interference of external forces.

The spokesman also said that the South China Sea issue is in fact about the illegal encroachment on Chinese islands by relevant countries and interference from forces outside the region.

"All the Chinese side has done is to safeguard its own rights, which is justified and legitimate," Zhao said.

According to the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, a Chinese think tank, the US military carried out a record 94 close-up reconnaissance flights over the South China Sea near the Chinese coast last month.