Beijing says ‘smear campaign’ as US terms China ‘most serious challenge’

TIL Desk/World/Beijing/ China on Friday dismissed US’ description of Beijing being the “most serious long-term challenge to the international order”, terming it as a “classic piece of disinformation and a smear campaign”. Addressing an audience at US-based George Washington University on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.

He called China “the most serious long-term challenge to the international order”, and the US, while stepping up competition with invest, align, compete” strategy, will, however, avoid conflict or new Cold War with the Communist country. China sharply hit back at Blinken, terming his observations as a classic piece of disinformation and a smear campaign.

This speech of Secretary Blinken is a voluminous one. He went to great lengths to spread disinformation, play up the so-called ‘China threat’, interfere in China’s internal affairs and smear China’s domestic and foreign policy, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said. The sole purpose is to contain and suppress China’s development and maintain the US hegemony. China deplores and rejects this, he said.