Spokesperson's Remarks｜China slams Rubio's China-related remarks and lodges ...

In response to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's accusations against China regarding the island of Taiwan, trade and Indo-Pacific affairs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday at a regular press conference in Beijing that Rubio's remarks are steeped in the Cold-War mentality and full of lies and false accusations. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this, and has lodged serious protests with the US.

Regarding the Taiwan question, Lin said that there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This is the real status quo of the Taiwan Strait. The US has distorted the one-China principle, and insisted on using Taiwan to contain China, and the Taiwan authorities have sought "independence" under the support and connivance of the US. These are the most fundamental changes to the status quo of the Taiwan Strait.

Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson/MFA PRC

Lin noted that the Taiwan question is the most crucial, sensitive and explosive question in the China-US relations. If the US does not hope to trigger confrontation, they must stop crossing or trampling on the red line of the Taiwan question.

As for trade and tariffs, Lin said that trade and tariff wars have no winner. The US's attempts to politicize and weaponize trade and economic issues, levy tariff hikes on Chinese imports under the pretext of fentanyl, and create blocks to its normal trade, investment and economic cooperation with China will only harm its own economic interests and international credibility. China stands ready to work with the US to address each other's concerns through dialogue and consultation on the basis of equality and mutual respect. In the meanwhile, China will take all measures necessary to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests.

Regarding the Indo-Pacific affairs, Lin pointed out that the Asia-Pacific is a pace-setter in cooperation and development, not a chess board for geopolitical rivalry. History and facts show time and again that treating other countries as a chess piece, pawn or even cannon fodder is the US's go-to tactic. The US should not project its own hegemonic mentality onto China. Attempts to stoke bloc confrontation in the Asia-Pacific run counter to the trend of the times and go against the common aspiration of regional countries. These moves will win no support and be doomed to failure.

"Our message to the US is a lie told a thousand times cannot be a fact, the world will not be fooled by such baseless vilification against China, and megaphone diplomacy does no good to China-US relations. We will be committed to viewing and developing our relations with the US on the basis of the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation put forward by President Xi Jinping. Meanwhile, we will firmly defend national sovereignty, security and development interests." Lin said. (By Ma Ziqian/China Youth Daily)

来源：中国青年报客户端