Beijing, China — China’s top legislative body has urged the United States to abandon what it calls a “Cold War mentality” and remove negative content related to China from its latest defense policy bill. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, recently signed into law by President Joe Biden, includes provisions that Chinese officials say unfairly target their country.
Xu Dong, spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), expressed strong dissatisfaction with the NDAA’s content. “The bill repeatedly hypes up the so-called ‘China threat,’ promotes military support for Taiwan, and suppresses China’s scientific, technological, and economic development,” Xu said. “It grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs and undermines our sovereignty and security.”
China maintains that it has always approached its relationship with the U.S. based on mutual respect and cooperation. “The success of both countries presents opportunities for each other,” Xu stated. “We should be boosts to each other’s development, not obstacles.”
The spokesperson emphasized the importance of stable China-U.S. relations not just for the two nations but for the world. “It’s inevitable that we’ll have differences, but they shouldn’t undermine each other’s core interests or lead to conflict,” Xu said. He highlighted issues like Taiwan, democracy, human rights, and China’s development path as “red lines” that should not be crossed.
“We strongly urge the United States to abandon its ideological biases,” Xu concluded. “We hope they will not implement the negative provisions of the NDAA concerning China and avoid repeating mistakes on issues related to our sovereignty and core interests. China will take resolute measures to safeguard our sovereignty, security, and development.”
Reference(s):
China urges U.S. to drop negative China content in defense policy bill
cgtn.com
