China Says US ‘Too Negative’ Toward China

April 16, 2021by AP Staff Report
China Says US ‘Too Negative’ Toward China
Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Yucheng speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, Friday, April 16, 2021. Le spoke to AP on a wide range of issues during an interview on Friday including climate change and US-China relations. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

BEIJING (AP) — A top Chinese diplomat has called U.S. policy on China “too negative,” saying it highlights confrontation over cooperation. 

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Yucheng said Friday that cooperation could be critically important as U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration focuses on COVID-19 and economic recovery.

Le told The Associated Press in an interview that the two countries could tide over many difficulties by working together. He said the emphasis on competition and confrontation lacks a forward-looking spirit. 

But the vice minister added that cooperation needs to be on an equal basis and should not be “one side drawing up a laundry list or demands to the other side.”

In other news, Le also signaled that China is unlikely to make any new proposal beyond its current commitments on climate change. 

“For a big country with 1.4 billion people, these goals are not easily delivered,” he said in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press. “Some countries are asking China to do more on climate change. I am afraid this is not very realistic.”

He spoke as Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, was discussing the issue on the second day of closed-door meetings with Chinese counterparts in Shanghai. 

Le said he had no details on those meetings.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced last year that China would be carbon-neutral by 2060 and aim to reach a peak in its emissions by 2030.

Biden has invited 40 world leaders, including Xi, to an April 22-23 virtual climate summit. The U.S. and other countries are expected to announce more ambitious national targets for cutting carbon emissions and pledge financial help for climate efforts by less wealthy nations.

Le didn’t say whether Xi would join the summit, but said “the Chinese side is actively studying the matter.”

A+
a-
  • China
  • diplomacy
  • geopolitics
  • United States
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Geopolitics

    Poland's President Calls on NATO Allies to Raise Spending on Defense to 3% of GDP

    WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's president on Monday called on other members of the NATO alliance to raise their spending... Read More

    WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's president on Monday called on other members of the NATO alliance to raise their spending on defense to 3% of their gross domestic product as Russia puts its economy on a war footing and pushes forward with its invasion of Ukraine.... Read More

    US Adults Fracture Along Party Lines in Support for Ukraine Military Funding, AP-NORC Poll Finds

    WASHINGTON (AP) — As Russia makes battlefield advances and Ukrainian soldiers run short on ammunition, U.S. adults have become fractured along party... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — As Russia makes battlefield advances and Ukrainian soldiers run short on ammunition, U.S. adults have become fractured along party lines in their support for sending military aid to Kyiv, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Democrats are more likely... Read More

    At Paris Gathering, Western Leaders to Show Unity for Ukraine and Signal 'Russia Cannot Win'

    PARIS (AP) — More than 20 European heads of state and government and other Western officials are gathering in a... Read More

    PARIS (AP) — More than 20 European heads of state and government and other Western officials are gathering in a show of unity for Ukraine, signaling to Russia that their support for Kyiv isn't wavering as the full-scale invasion grinds into a third year. French President Emmanuel Macron,... Read More

    Harris Repudiates Trump Worldview and Says the US Won't Back Down on Ukraine's Defense

    MUNICH (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday warned of the dangers of growing authoritarianism and isolationism in a... Read More

    MUNICH (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday warned of the dangers of growing authoritarianism and isolationism in a not-so-veiled repudiation of Donald Trump’s worldview and threats to renege on security guarantees for NATO allies should he return to the White House. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Harris offered... Read More

    Biden Warns Opposing Ukraine Funding Plays 'Into Putin's Hands,' but Faces Resistance in House

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday called for House Republicans to urgently bring a $95.3 billion aid package... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday called for House Republicans to urgently bring a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan to a vote, warning that refusal to take up the bill, passed by the Senate in the morning, would be "playing... Read More

    Biden Tells Congress to 'Show Some Spine' Against Trump as Border Security and Ukraine Aid Collapse

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Congress to “show some spine” and stand up to Donald Trump... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Congress to “show some spine” and stand up to Donald Trump even as a Senate deal on border enforcement measures and Ukraine aid was rapidly collapsing. The Democratic president has engaged for months with Senate leaders to... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top