Photo taken on May 22, 2020 shows flags on the Tian'anmen Square and atop the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China. (XING GUANGLI / XINHUA)
BEIJING – China on Wednesday urged the United States to stop promoting a bill that exaggerates "China threat" rhetoric and advocates strategic competition against China.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press briefing, saying China has firmly opposed US Senate approving "The United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021."
The bill slandered China's domestic and foreign policies and seriously interfered in China's internal affairs on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said
The US Senate on Tuesday voted 68-32 to pass a sweeping package of legislation intended to boost the country's ability to compete with Chinese technology.
The bill slandered China's domestic and foreign policies and seriously interfered in China's internal affairs on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, Wang said.
The bill is full of zero-sum cold war mentality and runs counter to the common desire of all sectors of China and the United States to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, the spokesperson added.
Urging the United States not to treat China as an "imaginary enemy," Wang said China is committed to developing a relationship of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation with the United States but will continue to firmly safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests at the same time.
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"The goal of China's development is to continuously make improvements and enable the Chinese people to live better and happier lives," Wang said, urging the US side to take a rational view of China's development and China-US relations.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), or China's national legislature, expressed a similar sentiment on Wednesday.
The bill attempts to maintain the US global hegemony by fanning the so-called China threat, to interfere in China's internal affairs on the pretext of human rights and religion, and to take away China's legitimate right to development by means of "decoupling" in the scientific, technological and economic areas, according to a statement issued by the committee.
The bill shows that the paranoid delusion of seeking unilateral dominance has distorted the purpose of innovation and competition, according to the statement.
China remains committed to building China-US relations featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, the statement reads
The world is entering a period of turbulence and transformation, and against this backdrop, the practice of continuously targeting China as a hypothetical enemy goes against the world trend, is unpopular and is doomed to fail, it said.
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The committee stressed in the statement that China always pursues peaceful development, and the Chinese people's right to pursue a better life through work is sacred and inviolable.
No forces should entertain the fantasy that China will allow its sovereignty, security and development interests to be infringed upon, it said.
China remains committed to building China-US relations featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, according to the statement.
"We strongly urge the US Congress to take an objective and rational view of China's development and China-US relations, immediately halt the review of the bill and stop interfering with China's internal affairs, in order to prevent harming the overall China-US ties and their cooperation in key areas," it added.