China which wants to be the dominant force in Asia, on Tuesday (September 14) again was critical of the first in-person meeting of the Quad countries that include India, Australia, Japan, and the United States to be held in Washington on September 24.
Zhao Lijian, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry said, “regional cooperation cliques formed to target a third country will not be popular and have no future,” and described the Quad, or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, as a clique based on a cold war ideology and “detrimental to the international order.”
US President Joe Biden will host the first in-person summit of leaders of the Quad countries after the US and NATO troops pull out from Afghanistan as part of a recalibration strategy to push back China’s growing assertiveness especially in the Indo-Pacific region.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for this summit and will also be speaking at the United Nations and in Washington, he will be joined by Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga and Australian PM Scott Morrison and will hold comprehensive meetings on the future of Quad and the changing dynamics of the Indo-Pacific region.
When asked about the Quad conclave, which is to be held on September 24, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian said: “It (the Quad) should not target any third party. “China believes that any regional cooperation framework should go with the trend of the times and be conducive to mutual trust and cooperation between the regional countries. It should not target any third party or harm their interests,” Zhao Lijian said. “To form exclusive cliques targeting other countries does not conform with the country’s aspirations, won’t be popular and has no future.”
“I want to stress that China is not only an engine for economic growth in Asia Pacific, it is also the main force safeguarding peace,” Zhao Lijian said, adding that China’s growth is an increase in “forces for peace” in the world and “good news” for the region.
“Relevant countries should abandon outdated zero-sum game thinking and narrow geopolitical concepts, take a correct view of China’s development, respect the hearts of the people in the region, and do more things that are conducive to promoting unity and cooperation of regional countries,” Zhao Lijian added.
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