China’s fresh international minister points warning to the US

Today, the National People's Congress, the new Chinese foreign minister, came out swinging if the United States does not hit the brake, but continue to speed down the wrong path. No amount of guardrails can prevent derailing.

And there will surely be conflict and confrontation Well, that was Ching Jiang speaking earlier these sharp warnings, the latest sign of how low relations have sunk between the United States and China.

So tonight we ask, how close are we to all out conflict between the world's two largest superpowers? Mark Stewart back with us this hour. He's in Tokyo on assignment. And Kylie Atwood is at the US State Department. Mark, let's start with you.

The key issues. What are they that the foreign minister was speaking about Well, the foreign minister really has been touching about a lot of issues. First of all, he mentioned even the recent balloon.

Shoot down in the United States. He talked about the U.S. involvement with Taiwan and its support for Taiwan. He also accused the US of trying to orchestrate a NATO's style alliance in Asia and made suggestions that Asia could be the backdrop of a conflict very similar.

To that of Ukraine. Certainly a long list of grievances, if you will, but not necessarily unexpected. And Gong at one point was the Chinese diplomat to the United Nations and to the US, and has basically made this shift from someone who has been careful.

And thoughtful to taking on more aggressive tones like that of Beijing. Strong wording, very stringent wording and a very tense tone. He is trying to establish himself as now a key player, very Beijing centric. And at the same time, as you mentioned, we have the National People's.

Congress, beginning with Xi Jinping beginning a new term. So they, too, also want to have a very strong tone. Look, there is certainly tension in this area. We have seen militaries across the region really beef up and include Japan, where I am now.

But for the moment, the war of words seems to be the dominant weapon, at least at this point, Becky. For I let you go. It's a war of words. We've been hearing one side of this very loudly from the US who are bent on putting into place stronger.

Economic measures against Beijing. We are seeing that return by Beijing at this point. What do they put on the table Well, it's interesting because as you know, the Chinese economy has really been suffering, especially because of zero.

COVID lockdown. The testing and the quarantines all had a big financial toll, especially on local governments. So in a way, Beijing needs help from the West, including the United States. However, in just the last few hours, we heard Xi.

Jinping make comments saying that the West and the US have really held back China's growth and development and has made overtures to heads of Chinese companies to be side by side, step by step with the Chinese communist government.

But at the end of the day, China does need help from the outside, and that's the United States and the West Fascinating. All right, Mark, stand by, Kylie. Any response at this point from the US side? No, not yet. We're still waiting.

State Department has a briefing later today. But I do think that the context is important here. Obviously, these comments made during the National People's Congress. As Mark was saying there. And so therefore, you have a foreign.

Minister who's new to the job, who is likely, you know, making comments that make him seem, you know, a really tough incoming leader. In this role. And US officials will have to just wait and see what that looks like in terms of his actual engagements.

With U.S. officials. It's worth noting that he and the secretary of state were both in India for the foreign ministers meetings of the G-20 just in recent weeks.

And they didn't have a meeting. Now, obviously, the secretary of state did have a meeting with the other top diplomat, Wang Yi of China, just a few weeks ago. But that was a contentious meeting because that was around the time, of course, of that Chinese spy balloon.

It was after the US shot that down, which is obviously creating a lot of tension between the two countries. And then, of course, accelerating those tensions. Are the warnings from the Biden administration that China is considering.

Lethal assistance to Russia to be used in the war in Ukraine. So we've got a number of issues that are really challenging the two countries relationship right now and it looks a lot different than it did at the outlook at the beginning of this year.

When it looks like U.S. officials and Beijing officials were potentially going to try and kind of engage with one another. Well, now that has been halted. And I asked yesterday the State Department spokesperson.

If there was any plans for the secretary of state to go ahead with his rescheduled trip to Beijing that was canceled because of that balloon. And they really had no good answer. There's clearly not a date on the calendar.

For that trip right now. And one thing that Ned Price said was that the United States wishes that they had more and in some ways deeper lines of communication with the Chinese right now, That's interesting. Let's just hear some more from what.

The new foreign minister had to say. This is on Sino-Russian relations commercial. When Russia and China work together, there is an impetus for the multi polarization of the world and the democratization of international relations.

And a global strategic balance and stability will be more guaranteed. The more turbulent the world is, the more Sino-Russian relations must move steadily forward. And colleague, you alluded to the allegations, the frustration that Beijing has.

With these allegations from the US about that. There's no evidence for this as of yet, but the sense that China may be getting set to send lethal weapons to Russia How is the US preparing for the potential further alignment of two of its strongest.

Adversaries at this point? Yeah, it's a great question and really what we've seen them try and do is get other countries on the side of the United States in opposition to this possible move by China. We've seen the Secretary of State talk to a lot of European allies.

To make sure that they too would oppose that lethal assistance. We've actually heard in recent weeks from some of those European leaders mirroring what the Biden administration, German Chancellor Schultz saying just last week.

That they have warned the Chinese against going ahead with this lethal assistance to Ukraine. So while the Biden administration has repeatedly said that they don't think that we are entering a period that would mirror a new Cold War, because the US and Chinese economies are so integrated,.

Which was not the case with the US and Russia during the Cold War. It is a moment where it seems that there is a big polarization happening, which is just the result of many forces at play. But the Ukraine war.

Appears to be accelerating that bipolar nature of U.S. and China competition.

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