The United States is “a master of bullying” and should stop promoting a “hegemonic order,” the Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman, Senior Colonel Wu Qian, said on Thursday.
During a press briefing, Wu Qian was asked to comment on the US military leadership’s recent statements. On Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed the necessity of countering “aggression and bullying from China” while the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, General Mark Milley, claimed several days ago that Beijing and Moscow “fully intend to change the current rules-based order.”
In Wu Qian’s opinion, the United States is “the least qualified country to blame others.”
“The US comments, as always, reflect a strong Cold War mentality, a hegemonic mindset and reveals its anxiety over the peaceful rise of China. Whichever expressions the US are using, whether it is ‘bullying’ or ‘undermining international rules and order,’ I think, every term applies to the US itself,” the Chinese military spokesman said.
He provided several examples of the behavior of the “master of bullying,” such as the campaigns in Iraq and Syria, as well as the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia 23 years ago.
“When it comes to a rules-based international order, the United States is a globally recognized rule-breaker,” though it talks about the rules more than anyone else, Wu Qian argued, referring to the US’ withdrawals from various international agreements.
“We urge the US to stop the wrong practice of presenting its domestic regulations as international rules and promoting the US-style ‘hegemonic order.’ We encourage it to accept China’s peaceful development objectively and rationally,” he said.
Such a change of stance by the United States, in the Chinese military spokesman’s opinion, would be beneficial not only for bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington but also for global peace and stability.