China on Pompeo’s India visit: Cold war mentality and ideological bias of US exposed

NEW DELHI : China on Wednesday slammed the US for what it called violation of “the norms of international relations and basic principles of diplomacy" and instigating countries against Beijing.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi said it exposed Washington’s “cold war mentality and ideological bias."

“The Chinese side expresses its firm opposition to it," the statement said.

The comments were a reaction to US Secretaries of State and Defence, Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper respectively, calling out China’s aggression against its neighbours in Asia as the world has been focussed on dealing with the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic spread.

Pompeo in particular made a pointed reference to the 20 Indian soldiers killed in a clash with Chinese People’s liberation Army soldiers in Galwan in Ladakh in June and said that the US will stand with India. That Pompeo and Esper travelled to India for the India US 2+2 Talks in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic could be read as a show of US support to India when it is in the midst of military stand-off with China in Ladakh.

One of the key pacts signed during the visit of Pompeo and Esper was one that allows India to access satellite based real time intelligence on the positions and movements of hostile forces during any potential border conflict — a development that must have not gone unnoticed in Beijing.

Besides New Delhi Pompeo is traveling to Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia on a Asia trip seen as aimed at bolstering support against an aggressive China.

"It is known to all that China has been unswervingly dedicated to quiet turn of events and grew inviting collaboration with our neighbors dependent on shared regard. China has consistently maintained multilateralism and stayed focused on keeping up a worldwide framework with the United Nations at its center and a global request dependent on global law. China undauntedly restricts conduct of participating in unilateralism and harassing. By building up the supposed "China danger", the US is indeed making appearances for keeping up its worldwide authority and containing China's turn of events," the Chinese international safe haven explanation said. 

On Pompeo's rehashed reference to the "Chinese Communist Party" and what he called it's



forceful and tormenting strategies," the announcement stated: The authority of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is a decision of history and the individuals. This year, under the administration of the CPC, the Chinese public have accomplished key triumph in battling the infection. As per reviews led by worldwide legitimate foundations, the Chinese individuals' fulfillment and trust toward the CPC-drove Chinese government surpass 90%. Any individual who deliberately ignores the way that the CPC is embraced and upheld by the Chinese public or wantonly defames the CPC is transparently remaining on the contrary side of the Chinese public." 

On the military deadlock with India, the consulate explanation said it was a respective issue between New Delhi and Beijing.

“The boundary question is a bilateral matter between China and India. The two sides have been discussing disengagement and deescalation in the border areas through diplomatic and military channels. China and India have the wisdom and ability to handle their differences properly. There's no space for a third party to intervene," the statement said.

The "Indo-Pacific strategy" also came in for criticism with the Chinese statement describing the move as an attempt by the US “to stir up confrontation among different groups and blocs and to stoke geopolitical competition, in a bid to maintain the dominance of the US, organize closed and exclusive ideological cliques."

“The difficulties and challenges facing the world could only be coped with when all people join hands and pull together. Peaceful development and win-win cooperation are the only right path forward," it said.

The Indo-Pacific strategy and the “Quad" that groups together India, US, Japan and Australia are viewed by China as anti-Beijing constructs to stymie it.

On repeated references by US president Donald Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo to the coronavirus as the “Wuhan virus" or “China virus," the Chinese statement said the US was trying to shift the blame onto China “which is indeed distorting facts to mislead the public."

“What China has done and achieved in our fight against the virus are open for all to see. We hope US politicians could focus on their own epidemic response and saving lives instead of shifting blame on others," it said.