China rejects 'strategic competition' and calls on US to cooperate

Foreign Ministry says two countries 'shoulder special, major responsibilities'

20210126N  Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian at a news conference in September. © Reuters

TSUKASA HADANO, Nikkei staff writer

BEIJING -- China wants cooperation, not strategic competition, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, a day after the White House said it was looking to form a "new approach" toward China.

"Over the past few years, the Trump administration went in a very wrong direction. They regarded China as a 'strategic competitor' and even a 'threat,' and thus took erroneous actions that interfered in China's internal affairs and undermined China's interests," Zhao Lijian, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said during a regular news briefing.

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