In front of a group of international leaders and experts gathered at the Munich Security Conference, Wang Yi made a number of accusations against the United States, considering that its reaction was “ridiculous and hysterical” to the flight of a Chinese balloon over American territory, which Washington said was sent for espionage and was shot down by an American warplane on the 4th. February, while Beijing said it was for “civilian” use.
“The sky is full of balloons from different countries,” Wang Yi said, “Do you want to shoot down all of them? This does not prove that America is strong.”
The Chinese diplomat added that shooting down the balloon was “100 percent abuse of force,” repeating that it was just a simple weather research balloon that had accidentally drifted into US airspace.
“We urge the United States not to do such ridiculous things just to divert attention from its own internal problems,” Wang Yi said.
He said, “We asked the United States to deal with this situation calmly and professionally. Unfortunately, the United States ignores these facts and uses advanced combat aircraft to shoot down a balloon with its missiles, which I find absurd and hysterical.”
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Wang Yi said that his country is a champion of “peace,” and stressed that Moscow and Kiev should “sit around the table and find a political solution to the conflict.”
For her part, US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also in Munich, questioned China’s neutrality.
She said the United States was “troubled by the fact that Beijing has deepened its relations with Moscow since the beginning of the war.”
Harris warned that “any move by China to provide lethal support to Russia will only reward aggression and continued killing and undermine a rules-based order.”
Western countries, especially Germany and France, still hope to persuade China to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.
fierce battle
However, there are many differences between Washington and Beijing, including the imbalance in trade relations, the Hong Kong issue, US relations with Taiwan, human rights, and even competition in the technology sector.
On the trade side, Wang Yi denounced the US restrictions on exporting electronic chips made by Chinese companies.
He said these restrictions are “100 percent protectionist,” adding that the United States is “100 percent selfish, 100 percent acting unilaterally, and seriously violating the principle of free trade.”
Wang Yi said that these restrictions reflect the “misconception of China” on the part of the United States.
In October, the US, under the pretext of “national security”, announced new export controls aimed at limiting Beijing’s ability to purchase and manufacture high-quality electronic chips “for military applications”.
Washington’s ambition is to complicate Beijing’s development of the semiconductor industry, the focus of a fierce battle between the two economic powers for technological dominance.
The United States regularly accuses China of industrial espionage and a threat to its national security.
In response, China announced in December that it had brought a case to the World Trade Organization against the United States.
For his part, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who is also present in Munich, reminded Westerners of the mistake they made with Russia by relying on it to supply them with energy, calling for “not to make the same mistake with China.”
“We should not be too dependent on the products and raw materials that we import,” he said.
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