At the press conference before the start of the NPC's opening session, the spokesman for the
Chinese legislature Zhang Yesui addressed China-EU relationship and condemned the
US$ 350 billion the America Competes Act, which he described as “small circle” diplomacy
that could jeopardise America’s own interests . He said, “How the US wants to enhance its own
competitive capabilities, including its chip development and manufacturing capabilities, is a
matter for the US itself, but the practice of using China’s development as an excuse and treating
China as a strategic competitor will only undermine mutual trust and cooperation between
China and the US, and will certainly harm the US’ own interests.” Saying that stable bilateral
ties would benefit both China and the US and mutual respect should be the “correct path” for
the two countries to get along, Zhang Yusui added “But I want to emphasise that drawing
ideological lines, forming small circles, and engaging in group confrontation are … simply not
feasible.” He made no mention of the Russia-Ukraine war or, in a break from recent tradition,
China’s defence spending. Beijing has said its dispute with Lithuania should not be so
amplified by the European Union that it affects overall China-EU ties. Zhang Yesui did not
discuss the crisis in Ukraine, nor did he talk about China’s defence spending, a highlight of the
NPC press conference in previous years. Instead, he took a question about Beijing’s coercive
measures against Lithuania, an issue the EU has taken to the World Trade Organization. Beijing
was furious after Vilnius moved closer to Taiwan and blocked imports from Lithuania as well
as from companies in other EU countries that use components manufactured in Lithuania.
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He also defended China’s new anti-sanctions law, calling it a defensive measure, and said that
was passed in June and allows the Chinese government to hold businesses liable for refusing
to help Beijing carry out countermeasures against foreign sanctions.
The People's Daily (March 5) published reports of foreigners praise of China's socialist
democracy with Chinese characteristics. It excerpted comments by people from Spain, Brazil,
Mexico, Thailand, and Egypt
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