China gives reason for deteriorating relations with US — RT World News
The Department of Defense argues that the tensions are due to an error in strategic judgment by Washington
Washington bears full responsibility for the current decline in US-China relations, Beijing has argued. Its Department of Defense claimed that US leaders had based their policy towards China on a faulty assessment.
Speaking to state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday, ministry spokesman Tan Kefei accused Washington of making a strategic error in judgment and said China was not responsible for the current bilateral difficulties.
On the same day, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe told his American counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, that Beijing considers Taiwan to be one of its main interests and a red line.
“Taiwan resolution is the Chinese people’s business, no outside force has the right to interfere,said Wei when meeting Austin in Cambodia.
The minister also expressed hope that Washington would respect Beijing’s national interests and take a more rational approach to China, which could reverse the negative trend in bilateral relations.
In recent years, consecutive US administrations have become increasingly critical of China, with Washington now openly labeling it a strategic adversary.
Tensions escalated sharply in early August, when US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory, seized by separatists.
Furious that Washington ignored its warnings, Beijing staged massive military drills in the Taiwan Strait in the days that followed.
Taiwan has been de facto independent since 1949, when the losing side of the Chinese Civil War moved to the island and established its own administration there. In accordance with the one-China principle, most countries have not recognized Taiwan as an independent state. However, Taipei has long had close unofficial relations with some countries, including the United States. Washington has been supplying weapons to Taiwan for years.
China, in turn, insists the island is an inalienable part of its territory. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly singled out Taiwan’s “reunification” with the mainland as one of Beijing’s main goals. He also clarified that China does not rule out a military option if all other avenues fail.
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