China slams UK Min's 'economic coercion' remark, warns against following Cold War playbook

After the comments of the UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in Australia, in which she accused Beijing of exerting "economic coercion" against other nations, China asserted that the UK is pursuing the Cold War playbook, claiming that it will lead to nowhere.

Further, Truss also blamed china for closely working more Russia. In a statement on Sunday, the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom said that the allegations made against China in this speech blur the lines between “right and wrong and raise questions about their real intention".

The statement further added that the accusations contain a lot of misinformation about China and the present international situation.

According to the statement, "Today's world is a far cry from the one 40 or 50 years ago. The Cold War is long gone! In the face of global challenges including pandemics, what the international community needs is solidarity and cooperation, not division or confrontation. British diplomacy, if following the Cold War playbook, will get nowhere." 

UK has been following the US' technique to encounter China

According to some Chinese specialists, the UK has been following the US' technique to encounter China on various fronts. Specialists believe that this action not only represents Prime Minister Boris Johnson's attempt to divert attention away from domestic issues by inciting trouble abroad but also demonstrates UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss' own motivation to use an anti-China standpoint to enhance her political presence as a potential candidate to succeed Johnson if he steps down or is ousted, Global Times reported. 

In addition to this, the embassy went on to say that people are seeing a statement that repeats US rhetoric, establishing lines based on ideology as well as discrediting other nations regardless of reality. As per the statement, it is an effort to describe the action "to create the small circles, which has inflicted negative impact on regional peace and stability," ANI reported.  

Comments of Liz Truss

China made these comments after the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom Liz Truss gave a speech at Australia's Lowy Institute recently, wherein she noted China multiple times, blaming the nation for "economic coercion" against all other nations and for cooperating more tightly with Russia. She urged the United Kingdom and Australia to join forces with other nations to protect "economic security and freedom."

Furthermore, Truss also added that Russia and China are increasingly cooperating as they attempt to set the bar in fields such as artificial intelligence, demonstrate their supremacy over the Western Pacific through combined military drills, and strengthen their connections in space.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the two nations are presently experiencing their "strongest, closest, and best relationship" in 70 years. 

(Image: AP)