By Yen Nee Lee
Correspondent
CNBC
China’s top diplomat has called out the U.S. for attempting to start a new Cold War between the two largest economies, and in the process plunging the world into “chaos and division.”
In an interview with state media Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said “today’s China is not the former Soviet Union.” He added that his country has “no intention of becoming another United States.”
“We have no intention of becoming another United States. China does not export ideology, and never interferes in other countries’ internal affairs,” he said.
The official English translation of the interview transcript was released on Xinhua’s website. The interview covered various flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, including semi-autonomous Chinese territory Hong Kong, Chinese tech firm Huawei and the disputed South China Sea.
Several American officials have warned that China wants to replace the U.S. as the world’s dominant power. Such sentiment in the U.S. culminated in a series of recent speeches by top officials — including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security advisor Robert O’Brien — which called out China for its attempt in upending the global order.