China condemns Donald Trump’s ‘selfish isolationism’

Beijing hits back after President accuses country of pursuing economic policies designed to weaken America

US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images)

Beijing has responded to Donald Trump’s recent labelling of China as a strategic “competitor”, by telling the US President to end America’s “cold war mentality”.

The remarks follow the publication of the Trump administration’s National Security strategy on Monday, in which the President accused China of pursuing a “repressive vision” and designing economic policies to weaken America.

On Tuesday, the Chinese embassy in Washington hit back, describing the Trump administration’s “America First” theme as “selfish”, and warned that promoting rivalry between the US and other countries “will lead to failure”.

“The Americans on one hand say they want to develop a partnership with China, but on the other hand they take an oppositional stance. This is contradictory,” it said in a statement.

“It is completely selfish for any nation to put its interests above the common interests of other nations and the international community. It will lead to a path of self-isolation.”

The statement adds: “On the one hand, the US government claims that it is attempting to build a great partnership with China. On the other hand, it labels China as a rival. The self-contradictory rhetoric of the US betrays the truth that China and the US are becoming increasingly interdependent and have growing intertwined interests. The US' rhetoric also runs counters to China's efforts to cooperate with the US on bilateral and global issues.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said later on Tuesday that China was calling on Washington to “stop distorting China’s strategic intentions”, or the US government would risk causing damage.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing she said: “Any country, or any report, which distorts the facts, or maliciously slanders will do so in vain.

“No one should be under the illusion that China will swallow a bitter pill that affects its interests.

“We call on the US to stop distorting China’s strategic intentions and to give up its cold war mentality and outdated concept that this is a zero-sum game – or it will end up causing damage to both sides.”

Mr Trump’s address on Monday came in stark contrast to that of his predecessor Barack Obama, who described China as a “strategic partner”.