Beijing--China asserted its place on the global diplomatic stage Sunday, pledging to steadfastly support Russia in the face of Western sanctions, scolding regional rival Japan, and making clear it sees the US as an equal.
Foreign minister Wang Yi, speaking to reporters at a packed annual press conference, staunchly defended China's national interests, while proclaiming that its rise is no threat to the international order.
He stressed that Beijing would not abandon old friends and allies such as Moscow, which is beleaguered under sanctions and international opprobrium, and Pyongyang, in recent years more often than not a headache for China's leaders rather than an asset.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to visit the US, the world's only superpower, later this year and Wang emphasised that the two countries are equals that must work to overcome tensions.
The two presidents were expected to "inject new momentum into efforts to build a new model of major country relations between China and the United States", Wang said, using Beijing's favoured description of their ties, suggesting they are on the same footing.
"China and the United States are two large countries," he added. "It's impossible for there not to be any disagreements between us."
Wang vowed to deepen economic and diplomatic cooperation with Russia, even as it faces Western sanctions over the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Ukraine.
Beijing and Moscow have regularly used their veto power on the UN Security Council to thwart Western initiatives such as on Syria's civil war, and Wang said they would "continue to carry out strategic coordination and cooperation to maintain international peace and security".
Sino-Russian relations were based on "mutual need", he said, and they would work to increase trade to an annual $100 billion a year while intensifying cooperation in sectors including finance and energy.
Oil and gas are crucial to Russia, which has suffered from the plunge in global crude prices, and Wang's comments suggest President Vladimir Putin -- with whom Xi has a strong personal relationship -- can count on Beijing's support.
- Weight of history -
Wang stuck largely to Beijing's script, reserving his theatrics for traditional bete noire Japan, which received a finger-wagging denunciation over what Beijing sees as its recalcitrance over World War II history.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will only be welcome at commemorations Beijing plans for the 70th anniversary of the war's end if he is "sincere" about history, Wang said.
China-Japan relations have plunged over issues including territorial disputes and Japan's 19th- and 20th-century invasions, while China's Communist Party regularly stokes nationalism as part of its claim to a right to rule.
Abe is a nationalist who feels Japan has apologised enough and that after seven decades of peace has earned a right to be more assertive of its interests, including defence and sovereignty, as well as how it sees its own history.
AFP
