Wang Yi Decries ‘Political Virus’ Infecting U.S. Policy Circles, Argues for Collaboration on COVID

May 24, 2020 (EIRNS)—It was a confident Chinese Foreign Minister who fielded questions from media today on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress. There were also several questions regarding the deteriorating situation between China and the U.S. given the Washington drumbeat to “make China pay” for the COVID virus, including from an irate CNN journalist, whose question Wang Yi had to reformulate in order to differentiate between truth and lies.

In a reply to one question, Wang Yi observed that the United States was the country that was most affected by COVID-19. Many people in the U.S. had sent help to China during its crisis and China had provided massive help to the United States. “It is imperative that we handle our relations responsibly,” he said.

“China and the United States have different systems and disagree on some items. That doesn’t preclude cooperation. We should nevertheless build a relationship on coordinating our efforts, but must always preserve our sovereignty and territorial integrity. Some forces in the U.S. have taken the U.S. hostage. This would reverse decades of U.S.-China cooperation. People on both sides should step forward and show the possibility of cooperation between two countries with different systems and different cultures,”

he said, characterizing the anti-China campaign as a “political virus.”

“This political virus is using every opportunity to attack and smear China. Some politicians have ignored the most basic facts and concocted too many lies about China and plotted too many conspiracies. I want to say here: Don’t waste precious time any longer, and don’t ignore lives. What China and the United States need to do the most is to first learn from each other and share their experience in fighting against the epidemic, and help each country fight it.”

In reply to the obnoxious CNN question about how China is now adopting a “Wolf Warrior” diplomacy (referring to two popular Chinese movies), Wang said the reporter was not “framing the question in the right way,” he said.

“You have to distinguish between right and wrong. China has always followed a path of peace, and this is widely recognized by the international community. But we have guts, and we will push back against insults. The future of diplomacy is premised on working together for the common interest, and not doing something because one country says so. We will always stand on the right side of history and those who call China a hegemon simply don’t want to give up their own hegemony.”

When asked about the various lawsuits that several states and others have filed demanding reparations for COVID, Wang repeated those who are pursuing these frivolous cases are “daydreaming and bringing shame on themselves.”

“China is no longer what it was 100 years ago,” he said, referring to the colonialist powers’ unjust demands on a weak Qing China.