Sino-US ties should be a race, not a boxing match: Envoy

WASHINGTON • Competition between the United States and China should be a "racing match" and not a "modern boxing match", China's Ambassador to Washington, Mr Qin Gang, has said.

The contest should not be viewed as one in which the opponent must be beaten to the ground, Mr Qin added during a recent joint interview with chief editors and senior correspondents of major American media outlets that was organised by the Bloomberg New Economy Forum.

Instead of competing with each other in a zero-sum game, Washington and Beijing should promote each other's development while putting their best foot forward at the same time, Mr Qin said.

Both sides can seek opportunities for cooperation amid the competition in the interest of making themselves stronger, while also fostering the growth and development of the other side, the envoy said as he stressed the need for a "fair and healthy" playing field.

"President (Joe) Biden said he hopes to have a good relationship with China. He doesn't want to mess up this relationship. But the US is defining the mainstay of US-China relations as competition. We don't agree," said Mr Qin.

Such a definition neglects the fact that Sino-US relations in the past 40 years have hinged upon cooperation, he said.

By continuing to compete against each other, the risk of confrontation and conflict is heightened, Mr Qin said.

The ambassador used an analogy to stress his point: "It's just like a hypertension patient. If his blood pressure keeps rising, it may cause a heart attack or a stroke which will endanger his life.

"If a hypertension patient goes to see a doctor, the doctor's first thing to do is to have this pressure lowered. Don't wait until the heart attack or stroke comes up."

Elaborating on China's view of fair and healthy competition, Mr Qin said the connotation was that "both sides need to abide by the norms governing international relations. We have internationally recognised rules, such as the principles of the United Nations Charter and World Trade Organisation rules".

However, he complained that "the current competition is not fair. The US side is using competition to contain China's development".

He cited the example of US measures to rein in Chinese companies, the use of national security arguments to justify those positions, and moves to delist or threaten Chinese companies with delisting from US exchanges.

"It's like cut-throat competition. It's a violent attack. This is what I'm worried about," Mr Qin said.

"The United States is trying to mobilise allies to kick China out of the international system. China is now being kicked globally, not only in the United States...," he said. "This is an unhealthy competition and must stop."

XINHUA