BEIJING – The United States is “the biggest threat to world peace, stability and development,” China said on Thursday, continuing its sharp rhetoric in response to US accusations of Chinese espionage and threats to the international order.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian’s comments came a day after the head of the FBI and the head of the British intelligence agency raised new alarms about the Chinese government, warning. business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal its technology for competitive gain.
The heightened tone comes ahead of a meeting on Saturday between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the summit of ministers from major rich and developing countries of the 20 in Bali, Indonesia.
“The relevant American politician has been playing with China’s so-called threat to defame and attack China,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing when asked about the FBI director’s comments. , Christopher Wray, who reaffirmed long-standing concerns in denouncing China’s economic espionage and piracy operations as well as the Chinese government’s efforts to quell dissent abroad.
“The facts have fully demonstrated that the US is the greatest threat to world peace, stability and development,” Zhao said. “We urge this American official to have the right perspective, to see China’s evolution in an objective and reasonable way, and to stop spreading lies and stop making irresponsible comments.”
Wray’s speech was especially notable because it took place at MI5 headquarters in London and alongside the agency’s general manager, Ken McCallum, in a show of Western solidarity.
“We constantly see that it is the Chinese government that poses the greatest long-term threat to our economic and national security, and by ‘our’ I mean our nations, along with our allies in Europe and elsewhere,” he said. say Wray to the attendees. .
McCallum said the Chinese government and its “covert pressure around the world” are “the challenge that most changes the game we face.”
Under Xi Jinping, president and leader of the ruling Communist Party, China has taken on an increasingly aggressive foreign policy, joining Russia in trying to undermine the influence of the US and its allies.
Beijing has refused to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine – which is expected to dominate the G-20 foreign ministers’ meeting – while condemning Western sanctions against Moscow and accusing Washington and NATO. to provoke conflict.
At the same time, the party exercises broad powers over all Chinese companies and institutions, both public and private, as it seeks to dominate global markets and emerging technologies.
The Chinese government and its “covert pressure around the world” are “the challenge that most changes the game we face,” McCallum said in a statement Wednesday.
In his response, Zhao said British intelligence was “simply projecting its own dishonorable behavior into China.”
“The head of the British intelligence service should eliminate (his) evil mind, get out of the darkroom and see the sunlight, and not always cling to zero-sum thinking or create the called imaginary enemies “. He said.
Zhao on Wednesday criticized Blinken’s comments at last week’s NATO summit in Spain, in which the secretary of state accused China of “seeking to undermine the rules-based international order.”