BEIJING (AP) – A top Chinese diplomat said on Friday that US policy towards China is “too negative” and cooperation could be critical as the Biden administration focuses on combating COVID-19 and advancing economic recovery.
The US appears to emphasize confrontation and downplay cooperation, Deputy Secretary of State Le Yucheng said in an extensive interview with The Associated Press.
“Such an approach is, I must say, too negative,” he said, adding that it does not lack a “forward-looking spirit”.
Le also said it is unlikely that China will make any new pledges at a climate change meeting hosted by President Joe Biden next week. He spoke when Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, discussed the issue on the second day from behind closed doors with Chinese counterparts in Shanghai.
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced last year that China would be carbon neutral by 2060 and aims to peak in its emissions by 2030.
“For a large country with a population of 1.4 billion, these goals are not easily met,” said Le. “Some countries are asking China to do more about climate change. I’m afraid this isn’t very realistic. “
Le said he had no details about the Kerry meetings in Shanghai.
Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Xi, to a virtual climate summit from April 22-23. The US and other countries are expected to announce more ambitious national targets for cutting carbon emissions and pledge financial aid for climate efforts by less wealthy countries.
Le said China would convey a positive message at the meeting, but added that China is responding to climate change on its own initiative, not because others asked. As to whether Xi would participate in the summit, Le said that “the Chinese side is actively studying the issue.”
The US and China have increasingly disagreed on a range of issues, including allegations of human rights violations in Tibet and the Xinjiang region, crackdown on protest and political freedom in Hong Kong, China’s assertion of its territorial claims on Taiwan and in the South China Sea and allegations Beijing was slow to inform the world of the COVID-19 outbreak that turned into a devastating global pandemic.
China hoped for an improvement in relations under Biden, who succeeded President Donald Trump in January, but the Biden administration has shown no restraint with its tough policy on China. The two sides exchanged sharp and unusual public barbs at the start of talks in Alaska last month.
Le said the dialogue after the opening of talks in Alaska was constructive and helpful and that both sides are following up on the issues discussed.
The two countries could work together on the coronavirus response, he said, but that cooperation must be on an equal basis, a clear reference to the US pressure on China on multiple fronts.
“It’s not one side that makes a laundry list of requirements on the other,” said Le. “In cooperation, one should not be selfish and only care about one’s own interests without taking into account the well-being of the other side.”
On the same day that a number of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were convicted, Le defended China’s crackdown on protests in the semi-autonomous region. He described the convicts as rioters, saying, “They deserve what they get.”
He added, “I don’t think it’s anything strange if Hong Kong somehow becomes more of a Chinese city, because Hong Kong is a part of China after all.”
The UK, US and others have accused Beijing of renouncing a commitment to run the former British colony under a so-called “one country, two systems” framework for 50 years after its 1997 handover to Chinese rule.
Le dismissed such criticisms, saying, “Hong Kong is always China’s Hong Kong and this is something that will not change.”
The Deputy Minister also condemned US and other Western sanctions against companies accused of human and labor violations in Xinjiang.
“They claimed they protect human rights in Xinjiang and are against forced labor, but the consequences of the sanctions have violated human rights in Xinjiang, leading to forced unemployment and forced poverty in Xinjiang,” said Le.