China's Xi says world needs justice, not hegemony in veiled reference to US

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for a fairer world order in the face of the West’s unilateralism, warning hegemonic countries against “bossing others around.”

Speaking at the annual Boao Forum for Asia on Tuesday, Xi said that “the future destiny of the world should be decided by all countries.”

“One or a few countries shouldn’t impose their rules on others, and the world shouldn’t be led on by the unilateralism of a few countries,” Xi said.

Without singling out the US, the Chinese president warned against building barriers that are against market principles.

“Attempts to erect walls or decouple run counter to the law of economics and market principles. They would hurt others’ interests without benefiting oneself,” Xi stated, in a veiled reference to Washington’s efforts to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains and crub export of products such as advanced computer chips to China.

“What we need in today’s world is justice, not hegemony... Bossing others around or meddling in others’ internal affairs will not get one any support,” Xi said, while giving assurances that China will never engage in an arms race.

“A big country should look like a big country by showing that it is shouldering more responsibility," he added.

China has repeatedly criticized US hegemony and its projection of power in trade and geopolitics.

China and the US have been engaged in an intense trade war, kicked off under the Donald Trump administration.

The two world powers are also increasingly at odds over a range of issues, including alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region, protests in Hong Kong, China’s territorial claims on the Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) and most of the South China Sea as well as the COVID-19 origin.

Beijing hoped for an improvement in relations under President Joe Biden's administration. But the new president has so far shown no sign of backing down on hardline policies toward Beijing.

The Democratic president has even urged his democratic allies to harden their stance on China.

In a latest anit-Beijing move, Biden sought to present a united front with Japan to counter “challenges” by China.

On Friday, he hosted Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in a meeting, in which China topped the agenda.

In a display of economic cooperation to the exclusion of China, Biden said Washington and Tokyo will jointly invest in areas such as 5G technology, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, genomics and semiconductor supply chains.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson censured the US-Japan alliance and said the two were in fact ganging up to form cliques and fanning bloc confrontation while talking about a “free and open” Indo-Pacific.

"It will only enable the world to see with increasing clarity the detrimental nature of the US-Japan alliance, which attempts to undermine regional peace and stability," the spokesperson said.

The US president will host a virtual climate conference on Thursday and Friday with world leaders. The Chinese president will participate in the event.

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