Chinese dictator Xi Jinping told a panel of Communist Party officials on Monday that America and its Western allies were executing a conspiracy to ensure “all-round containment” of his country, which has resulted in “severe challenges.”
Xi’s remarks, appearing in the Chinese-language version of the state-run Xinhua News Agency, reportedly occurred at a panel presentation related to the ongoing “two sessions,” the annual gatherings of China’s two legislative bodies, the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). It preceded an extended press conference on Tuesday by Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who repeated much of Xi’s warnings about the United States and suggested that confronting China’s genocidal acts, wholesale intellectual property theft, or other international malfeasance could result in war.
The “two sessions,” completely dominated by the Communist Party, typically rubber-stamp policy proposals from Xi and hash out the specifics of federal-level funding appropriations. The lawmakers use the meeting to address the nation’s most prominent domestic problems. This year, participants are expected, as per Chinese state media reports, to dedicate much of their time to enacting policies that encourage women to have more children, as the nation’s birth rate threatens long-term economic prospects.
Xi is making multiple appearances at the “two sessions” though he has no formal legislative power.
Speaking on Monday, Xi urged lawmakers to “dare to struggle” against the alleged conspiracy.
“Western countries, led by the United States, have implemented all-round containment and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to the country’s development,” Xi reportedly said. “In the face of profound and complex changes in the international and domestic environment, we must remain calm, maintain concentration, strive for progress while maintaining stability, take action, be united and dare to struggle.”
Xi reportedly predicted that the “risks and challenges” posed by the Western conspiracy would “only increase and become more severe” over time.
Xi’s message to the CPPCC contained much of the same language, encouraging lawmakers to “have the courage to fight as the country faces profound and complex changes in both the domestic and international landscape,” according to Singapore’s Channel News Asia. Xi also encouraged lawmakers to come up with policies that make China’s economy as independent – and thus not beholden to human rights or other sanctions – as possible.
During his press conference on Tuesday, Qin, the foreign minister, similarly accused America of working to obstruct the Communist Party’s primary interests. Qin’s remarks were more belligerent than Xi’s, as he repeatedly suggested that China and America could go to war, yielding “catastrophic consequences” for the world.
Qin complained once again about the U.S. government shooting down an invasive Chinese aircraft violating its airspace – an alleged “meteorological” balloon that the Communist Party claims accidentally went far afield of its expected travel route, coincidentally over some of America’s most sensitive military sites.
“In violation of the spirit of international law and international customary practices, the United States acted with a presumption of guilt,” Qin claimed, describing left-wing President Joe Biden’s decision to shoot down the balloon after it had traveled across the continental United States and Alaska. “It overreacted, abused force, and dramatized the accident, creating a diplomatic crisis that could have been avoided.”
America’s “so-called ‘competition’ means to contain and suppress China in all respects and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game,” Qin said. “Its so-called ‘establishing guardrails’ for China-US relations and ‘not seeking conflict’ actually means that China should not respond in words or action when slandered or attacked.”
“That is just impossible!” Qin ranted. “If the United States does not hit the brake but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing, and there will surely be conflict and confrontation. Who will bear the catastrophic consequences?”
Qin also claimed that Taiwanese “separatism” – meaning the recognition of the fact that Taiwan is a sovereign state independent from communist China, with its own federal, democratically elected government – was “incompatible with peace.”
“For peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, its real threat is the separatist forces for Taiwan independence [the legitimate Taiwanese government],” Qin proclaimed.
The United States does not formally recognize Taiwan’s sovereignty – a move to appease China made under the administration of former President Jimmy Carter. It does, however, engage in trade, including selling military equipment, to the country.
China’s “two sessions” have so far yielded two major budget decisions: an increase in China’s defense budget of 7.2 percent, the largest since before the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, and the allocation of $24 billion for “coronavirus control,” a notably large amount given that Beijing claimed in December to have ended its large-scale lockdowns and mass imprisonment in quarantine camps for patients.
Chinese state media referred to the military budget increase, amounting to $225 billion, as “restrained” and necessary.
Regarding the birth rate collapse, state media outlets previewing the legislative sessions revealed some lawmakers planning to propose a variety of policies ranging from free higher education for mothers to sex education in kindergartens.
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