“Those who seek to exclude us to reduce risks are making a historic mistake”

The Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, assured this Saturday that “those who try to exclude China in the name of risk reduction will make a historic mistake,” and stated that “more and more people realize that the greatest risk is the absence of cooperation” at the international level.

“Rejecting (initiatives aimed at) decoupling has become an international consensus,” said the director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) during his speech at the Munich Security Conference (Germany). .

On Friday, during a meeting with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, the Chinese diplomat had spoken in similar terms, ensuring that Washington’s efforts to “reduce risks” in its relationship with China and “decouple” from the Asian country “will end up being a backfire.”

This Saturday, Wang stated: “The world economy is like a great ocean that cannot be divided into isolated lakes. The trend towards economic globalization cannot be reversed.”

The minister also referred to the Chinese economy, affected by various fronts such as the real estate crisis, regional debt, the threat of deflation or a less brilliant recovery than expected after the end of ‘zero covid’: “The Chinese economy is remains as vibrant and resilient as ever, and displays a more robust momentum of long-term growth.”

Wang recalled that the world’s second largest economy contributed a third to global economic growth last year and stressed the openness promise already made by the country’s president, Xi Jinping, that China “will continue to open its doors more and more to the rest of the world.” “.

Collaboration in the face of instability

In the opinion of the Chinese minister, 2023 was a year of “great turbulence” in the world and of “multiple challenges for humanity”, specifically pointing to “protectionism and the abuse of the concept of security” when explaining the problems of the Global economy.

Likewise, Wang regretted that “the international system was deteriorated by unilateralism and power politics”, factors that, in his opinion, have caused it to be currently “under serious strain.”

Despite this, the head of Chinese diplomacy assured that, “no matter how much the world changes, China (…) will serve as an unconditional force for stability in a turbulent world,” and called on other major countries to “take responsibilities crucial to global strategic stability.

“The more volatile the international panorama, the greater the need to improve collaboration, and the more acute the risks and challenges, the more there will be a need to advance cooperation,” said the minister, who specifically referred to the relationship with Washington. .

“When China and the United States work together, great things can be achieved for both countries and for the world. When the posture is confrontational, it damages both countries and the world,” he warned, recalling that 2024 marks the 45th anniversary of ties. between the now two largest world powers.

Wang also referred to the relationship with Europe, about which he considered it “imperative” that Beijing and Brussels “move away from geopolitical and ideological distractions” and that they “see each other as partners rather than rivals” to “inject positive energy into a volatile world.”