China slams ‘unfathomable absurdities’ of US trade controls as it hails Russia ties

Beijing CNN —

China’s top diplomat hit out at Washington’s “bewildering” trade policy during a news conference Thursday on the sidelines of a political gathering in Beijing, where Chinese leaders have been championing high-tech development in the face of mounting curbs from Washington.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused the US of “devising various tactics to suppress China” and said Washington’s “lengthening” unilateral sanctions list had reached “bewildering levels of unfathomable absurdity.”

“If it gets jittery whenever it hears the word China, where is its confidence as a major country?” Wang said in a response to a question about trade with the US and technological restrictions.

“If it only wants itself to prosper, but denies other countries legitimate development, where is international fairness? If it persistently monopolizes the high end of the value chain and keeps China at the low end, where is fairness and competition?”

Wang made the comments during an annual Foreign Minister’s briefing held during each “two sessions” gathering of China’s rubber stamp legislature and its top political advisory body. Though highly choreographed, the more than hour-long engagement is a key opportunity for China’s top diplomat to express the country’s foreign policy vision directly to reporters from media around the world.

In a stark contrast to his comments on the US, Wang praised China’s burgeoning relationship and record trade with Russia – highlighting this near the top of his press conference when a Russian state media reporter was the first question taken from a foreign reporter.

Wang’s comments on the US come as Washington continues its drive to narrow the kinds of high-end technology that can be accessed by