Last Updated: January 02, 2023, 12:19 p.m
The Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang said China is committed to upholding world peace and promoting common development (Image: Reuters)
Qin Gang said no one benefits when there is a war and major countries should avoid confrontations
New Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang said that both India and China are willing to ease the situation at the border and jointly maintain peace along the border.
Qin Gang made the comments in a piece titled How China Sees the World for the American magazine National Interestfour days before his promotion from Chinese envoy to the US to the country’s foreign minister.
Qin Gang also remained coy regarding the South China Sea dispute and said that all parties are ‘consulting on a code of conduct’ which will lead to ‘meaningful rules’ for the region.
“In the South China Sea, the status quo is that regional countries are consulting on a code of conduct that will lead to meaningful and effective rules for the region. As to the border issues between China and India, the status quo is that both sides are willing to ease the situation and jointly protect peace along their borders,” Qin Gang wrote.
This also signals that not only ties with the US but ties with India are also being prioritised by the bigwigs in Beijing and the matter has the attention of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The border standoff between both nations began in mid-June 2020 when China tried to encroach areas in eastern Ladakh, Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso and assumed an aggressive stance. The Chinese forces fanned the flames again on December 14, 2022 when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops tried to transgress the Line of Actual Control in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh Tawang Sector.
The aggressive stance of China and its constant violation of the status quo in the Himalayan region, northeastern India and the South China Sea threatens to upend peace and stability in Asia and the wider world but Chinese authorities remain adamant and its authorities plan more transgressions.
Earlier, a report by news agency Bloomberg said that China built land formations at Eldad Reef in the northern Spratlys and at Lankiam Cay, known as Panata Island in the Philippines.
It also built several installations in Lankiam Cay, Whitsun Reef and Sandy Cay.
Qin focused largely on China-US ties in his piece for National Interest.
He urged the American people to make the ‘right choice’ and reiterated Xi’s statement saying that the world is large enough to ensure prosperity for both China and the United States.
“The world is big enough for the two countries to develop themselves and prosper together. China-US relations should not be a zero-sum game where one side out-competes the other or thrives at the expense of the other. China and the United States now share more common interests, not less,” Gang wrote.
“The differences between China and the United States—in history, culture, social system, and development path—will most probably remain in 100 years. But as residents of the same world, we should and can listen to each other,” Gang wrote.
He also wrote regarding the war in Ukraine and said major nations should avoid confrontation, signalling that China wants to avoid a direct confrontation between US and Russia.
He said people should avoid looking at the world from the perspective of ‘democracy vs. authoritarianism’ if they want to avoid a ‘world of division, competition, and conflict.’
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