WASHINGTON, May 27. /TASS/. The Chinese government has never planned to replace the United States on the global arena or enter a zero-sum competition with Washington, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the US, Liu Pengyu, has told TASS commenting on recent remarks by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"China holds the view that China and the US, permanent members of the UN Security Council and the world’s largest economies, share extensive common interests and profound cooperation potential. Competition does exist in some areas such as trade, but it should not be used to define the overall picture of the China-US relations. It is never China’s goal to surpass or replace the US or engage in zero-sum competition with it," the diplomat said.
Beijing’s goal is "to constantly surpass ourselves, become a better version of ourselves and enable the Chinese people to lead better lives," he said.
"The sound and steady relations between China and the serve the fundamental interests of the two countries and meet the shared expectation of the international community. History and reality show that China and the US both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation," Liu Pengyu added.
In a major China policy speech on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called China the "most serious, long-term challenge" to the international order.