China tells US to 'hit brakes' or risk conflict

Beijing warns US risking conflict and hails Russia ties

- Helen Davidson

The United States and China are heading towards conflict if Washington does not change its approach, China's new foreign minister said yesterday at a fiery press conference in which he defended the strengthening of his country's relationship with Russia.

In his first media appearance as foreign minister, held on the sidelines of China's "two sessions" political gathering, Qin Gang outlined the country's foreign policy agenda for the coming years, presenting China and its relationship with Russia as a beacon of strength and stability, and the US and its allies as a source of tension and conflict.

Qin said that though the US side claimed it wanted to out-compete China but did not seek conflict, "in reality, the US side's so-called competition is all-out containment and suppression, a zero-sum game where you die and I live. If the US does not hit the brakes but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrail can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation."

Qin defended the close friendship between China and Russia, a relationship closely watched by the west in light of the war in Ukraine. He said the ties between Beijing and Moscow "set an example for global foreign relations".