German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer reiterated on Saturday that a German frigate is scheduled to sail across the South China Sea in August. She also mentioned challenges related to “systemic confrontation with China.” The foreign and defense ministers of Japan and Germany are scheduled to hold a “2+2” virtual dialogue in mid-April, reported the daily Yomiuri on Monday. Furthermore, all four members of the Quad kicked off the “La Pérouse” joint naval exercise, organized by France on Monday in the Bay of Bengal. The Quad, led by the US, has attempted to expand the bloc toward a “Quad plus.” Washington and Tokyo hope Europe can join the group. They seem to have made some progress at least in terms of making noise through the appearance of coordination with others. The Biden administration’s notion of strengthening the alliance system to deal with China’s challenges caters to the unease in the West in the face of China’s rise. Under the US’ push, some European countries’ shows against China will be increased. The US dominates this grand game against China, but the nature and tendency of the game remains uncertain. The most extreme US elites hope to escalate the China-US frictions into a new cold war. And so far they have launched quite a comprehensive mobilization in the political-level. But the security camp Washington intends to establish remains fragmentary. The US’ goal of economic decoupling and confrontation is far from being achieved. China is encountering an unprecedented strategic test. We need to firmly take countermeasures against Washington’s suppression, keep its allies from collaborating with the US’ anti-China policies. We should resolutely take tit-for-tat actions when our core interests are violated. At the same time, we need to pay attention to the timeliness, the extent and the effectiveness of our actions, and avoid the formation of a focal point of which Washington can take advantage to further promote its mobilization in the West. We should also prevent the situation from being hijacked by US extreme elites to get to a point that is conducive to their intentions. Political frictions between China and the US or even China and the West are inevitable. The two sides will gradually adapt to such frictions. The future diversity of the world will only be a result of struggle. China will certainly insist on its political systems and national path. No one can deprive China of this right. Meanwhile, China needs to prevent political issues from being made into security issues, particularly from infiltrating into the economy. China is the most powerful country in terms of comprehensive strength in the region. Despite the US’ instigation, China has a considerable edge to avoid the security issue being amplified. China’ economic strength is particularly strong and continues to develop. China has stronger initiative to ease the impact of political and security issues on its economy – as long as China opposes the division and decoupling of the world economy, US advocators of a new cold war will be unlikely able to reach their goal.
–The Daily Mail-Global Times News Exchange Item
