China stated that it is not afraid to compete with the U.S.

Beijing does not shy away from competition with Washington and is not afraid of it, but does not want relations between the two countries to be determined solely by competition. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said this at a briefing.

“China does not shy away from competition and is not afraid of it, but we are against competition determining all Sino-American relations,” Mao Ning said.

A “major responsible power,” she said, should not denigrate and vilify other countries under the pretext of competition, limit other nations’ legitimate development rights and damage global production and supply chains.

“A successful China and a successful U.S. individually are an opportunity, not a challenge, for each other. The vast land can fully accommodate the development and shared prosperity of China and the United States,” Mao Ning said.

She noted that Beijing opposes zero-sum games where one side wins at the expense of the other side’s loss.

Beijing will continue to develop relations with Washington in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial cooperation. At the same time, the PRC will firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests, she added.

The U.S. authorities should pursue a positive and pragmatic policy toward China in order to put the Sino-U.S. relationship back on the path of healthy and stable development.

President Joe Biden, in his annual State of the Union address to the House and Senate on Tuesday night, said the United States is making clear to China that it is determined not to conflict, but to compete.

You may be interested: The U.S. trade deficit in 2022 was a record $948.1 billion