China urges US to drop ‘Cold War’ mentality
BEIJING : China said yesterday that the United States should stop its unprovoked attacks and accusations, accusing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of maliciously creating political confrontation and smearing Beijing.
Mr Pompeo on Tuesday visited Japan and called for deeper cooperation with Australia, India and Japan to counter China's growing regional influence.
"Pompeo has repeatedly fabricated lies about China and maliciously created political confrontation," the Chinese embassy in Japan said in a statement.
"We once again urge the US to abandon its Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, stop unprovoked accusations and attacks against China and treat relations with China in a constructive manner."
Mr Pompeo's East Asia visit, his first in more than a year, coincides with worsening tensions with China.
Th US and China, the world's top two economies, are at loggerheads over a wide range of issues, from Beijing's handling of the coronavirus to its imposition of a new security law in Hong Kong and ambitions in the South China Sea.
HUMAN RIGHTS
Meanwhile, the US, Japan and many EU nations joined a call on Tuesday urging China to respect the human rights of minority Uighurs, and also expressed concern about the situation in Hong Kong.
"We call on China to respect human rights, particularly the rights of persons belonging to religious and ethnic minorities, especially in Xinjiang and Tibet," said German UN ambassador Christoph Heusgen.
Among the 39 signatory countries were the US, most of the EU member states including Albania and Bosnia, as well as Canada, Haiti, Honduras, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
"We are gravely concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the recent developments in Hong Kong," the declaration said.
Immediately afterwards, the envoy for Pakistan stood up and read out a statement signed by 55 countries, including China, denouncing any use of the situation in Hong Kong as an excuse for interference in China's internal affairs. - REUTERS, AFP
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