China isn’t seeking to confront or replace the United States as the world’s top technological power, but will fight back against “malicious slander” and attacks from Washington, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday, responding to a litany of recent accusations from the Trump administration.
“As an independent sovereign state, China has the right to safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests, to defend the achievements made by the Chinese people with hard work, to refuse any bullying and injustice against China, and to fight back against malicious slander and attacks by the US against China,” Hua told reporters at a daily briefing.
Her comments came in response to a speech Thursday by Attorney General William Barr in which he cautioned American business leaders against promoting policies favourable to Beijing. He asserted that China at the beginning of the pandemic had not only dominated the market on protective gear, exposing American dependence on Beijing, but had also hoarded supplies and blocked producers from exporting them to countries in need. — AP
