Relations with Pacific nations remain steady

China rebukes 'coercion' claim by Quad group, a clique 'targeting other countries'

Ties between China and Pacific island countries have been developing rapidly and steadily in recent years, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday, adding that the ties are transparent and open, and aren't aimed at any third party.

Zhao made the remark after Reuters said that United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Fiji on Saturday, "as China steps up its aid and influence in the region".

Ties between China and Pacific island countries have become a leading example of friendly cooperation between countries that differ in location, size and culture, Zhao added.

While developing ties with them, China insists on equality among all countries, big or small, and adheres to the principles of "sincerity, real results, amity and good faith", Zhao said, adding that both sides have been looking out for each other.

For example, China acted swiftly and mobilized resources from various channels to assist Tonga to recover from a volcanic eruption in January, and firmly supported the Solomon Islands in responding to riots that broke out in November, he said.

In addition, China has delivered a large amount of medical supplies and equipment to Pacific island countries via sea and air as these nations saw a sudden recent rise in COVID-19 cases, Zhao added.

Meanwhile, Zhao said the US is the one who has been applying coercions to other countries, as top diplomats of the US, Australia, Japan and India opened talks in Melbourne on deepening their "Quad" alliance, hoping to contain Beijing in the Asia-Pacific region.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison kicked off the day by highlighting the group's cooperation, while making a thinly-veiled allusion to his country's troubled relationship with Beijing.

"We stand up to those who would seek to coerce us," he told the visiting officials.

Blinken told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in an interview that "China has lost more than Australia has in its efforts to squeeze Australia economically", when asked about the dispute between Canberra and Beijing.

To make his case, Zhao cited the examples of the US forcing the Haitian military government to step down in 1994, listing $30.3 billion of military expenses for "coercive diplomacy" in 2003, cracking down on Huawei, Alstom, Toshiba by foul means, and forcing TSMC and Samsung to hand over data.

China has taken measures on imported goods strictly in line with its laws and the World Trade Organization's rules, Zhao said, adding that the measures are totally reasonable and lawful, and defy any accusations of "economic coercion".

"The US is playing up the so-called China threat in order to smear, suppress and contain China's development. This fully exposes the deep-rooted Cold War mentality and ideological bias of the US," he said.

Foreign ministers of the so-called Quad group also promised to increase cooperation on COVID-19, cyber threats and counterterrorism.

The administration of US President Joe Biden wants to show the world its long-term strategic focus remains in the Asia-Pacific and that a major foreign policy crisis in one part of the world－does not distract it from key priorities, Reuters commented.

Cold War construct

China has denounced the Quad group as a Cold War construct and a clique "targeting other countries".

Relations between the US and China are at their lowest point in decades with the top two economies disagreeing on many issues.

Asked by reporters on Friday whether confrontation with China in the Indo-Pacific was inevitable, Blinken replied that "nothing is inevitable".

And, Zhao said, the US, the United Kingdom and Australia attempted to increase regional tension by announcing their nuclear submarine cooperation within the AUKUS.

The move will stir up arms races, threaten regional peace and stability and undermine international nonproliferation efforts, Zhao said, adding that more and more countries have voiced their serious concerns about the trilateral cooperation.

The current system is unable to subject the cooperation to effective surveillance, which involves transfer of a large amount of weapon-level nuclear materials from nuclear weapon countries to non-nuclear weapon ones, and poses huge proliferation risks, Zhao also said.

Agencies contributed to this story.