China’s government leader Xi Jinping becomes a US friend in the Asia-Pacific with a thin veil swipe against the formation of a Washington-led alliance against communism in a pre-recorded video address to the APEC Summit in November. Issued a warning. 11.11.
“Attempts to draw ideological lines or form small circles for geopolitical reasons must fail,” Xi told the CEO Forum of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit without a country name.
“The Asia-Pacific region cannot and should not recur in Cold War conflicts and divisions,” Xi added.
APEC has 21 members, including Australia, China, Canada, New Zealand, Taiwan and the United States. This year, the summit will be effectively hosted by New Zealand.
Like Xi, Chinese government officials have also criticized the Western alliance in which the United States participates. Most recently, the accusation covered the newly formed AUKUS Defense Agreement, a security agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Under the agreement, Australia will deploy a fleet of nuclear submarines.
In October, China’s Singapore ambassador, Hong Xiaoyong, accused the United States of “forming more and more’small circles'” in an opinion piece published in The Strait Times. As an example of such a circle, he named the Five Eyes, Quad, and AUKUS.
Five Eyes is an information sharing alliance between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Formed in 2007 by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the quad consists of Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
On October 19, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin accused AUKUS of embodying the “Cold War spirit”, saying the alliance was aimed at causing a “block conflict.”
This is not the first time Xi has decided to use an international forum to take jabs in Washington. In September, he said in a pre-recorded speech to the United Nations’ 76th General Assembly that the world needs to “reject the practice of forming small circles and zero-sum games.”
Australia’s intention to join AUKUS was recently explained by Australia’s Ambassador to the United States, Arthur Sinodinos. Virtual talk Sponsored by the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
Synodinos said that being a member of AUKUS is an endorsement of an order based on international rules.For a country like China, the ambassador said, “You can’t throw. [their] Against other countries. “
In addition, joining AUKUS was to protect Australia, the ambassador said.
“In these deteriorating strategic situations, we want to be able to project our power even higher, rather than taking the approach that all our defenses must be mainland defenses,” he explains. bottom.
Beijing was criticized
In his video speech, Xi repeatedly called for cooperation among APEC members, including the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, science and technology innovation, and economic development.
However, the international community has questioned China’s willingness to cooperate in the global fight against COVID-19, a disease caused by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus. Beijing was criticized earlier this year for failing to work with a World Health Organization-led research team doing foundation work in Wuhan, China.
Xi also spoke of China’s intention to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement (CPTPP), a free trade agreement between 11 countries, including Australia, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Beijing applied for participation in a trade agreement in September.
Chinese leaders have also promised to further open up China’s agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers warned about China’s bid to participate in the CPTPP.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) In a letter (pdf) As of October 5, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai will join China in an 11-country agreement using tools available under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USCMA). I asked to stop it.
“China is far from complying with the CPTPP standards for state-owned enterprises, intellectual property, labor, the environment, and many other areas,” Cotton wrote.
“China’s entry into the CPTPP will reward the state-sponsored theft and economic coercion that characterizes the Chinese Communist Party.”
follow
Frank Fang is a Taiwan-based journalist. He covers news in China and Taiwan. He holds a master’s degree in materials science from Tsinghua University in Taiwan.
More articles from this author