Beijing has called Washington the “top disruptor” on the world stage, saying the US seeks “hegemony” over other nations, after an American official slammed China for pursuing “aggressive” policies.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was asked to respond to recent remarks by US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who accused the People’s Republic of attempting to “reshape the rules-based international order.”
“Facts have fully proven that the US is the top disruptor of international rules and order. Hegemony is the hallmark of its approach to… international affairs,” Wang said, adding “It is the US, not China, that undermines and tramples on international rules.”
The spokesman went on to cite “abuses” by the US military in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, as well as the use of sanctions for “coercion,” “looting,” and “exploitation,” saying American foreign policy has been “creating division and stoking confrontation all over the world.”
US intervention in Ukraine also shows that Washington is “a source of trouble rather than ‘defender of peace’ for the world,” Wang said, noting that the US has flooded the Ukrainian battlefield with more weapons than any other country.
“It makes people wonder… whether the US finds it conscionable to tell the world it wants peace and yet sit and watch its defense industry lining up their pockets,” he continued.
Sherman’s comments on China were made earlier this month at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution, a Washington, DC-based think tank, where the senior diplomat repeatedly spoke of the “challenges” posed by Beijing.
“We’ve known that the PRC is the pacing geopolitical challenge of our era, one that will test American diplomacy like few issues in recent memory. We recognize that the PRC is the only competitor with the intent and the means to reshape the rules-based international order,” she said, accusing China of “aggressive” policies abroad.
While Sherman also accused the People’s Republic of “a clear violation of our national sovereignty and international law” after a Chinese high-altitude balloon drifted into US airspace in late January, Wang rejected any suggestion the craft was intended for espionage.
