BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- The international community has a fair judgment on who is breaking international rules and who is upholding them, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Thursday.
Hua made the statement when responding to a question regarding U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper's China-smearing remarks made during his recent visit to Japan, saying China's military activity and calculated strategy of predatory economics violate the international rules-based order.
"Some people in the U.S. are attaching various labels to China out of Cold-War mentality and zero-sum game mindset while turning a blind eye to the basic facts. Such move is unfair, immoral and ill-intentioned," said Hua.
For a start, China is committed to peaceful development and a defense policy that is defensive in nature. China is a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and an upholder of the international order. In contrast, the U.S. owns hundreds of military bases worldwide, deploys hundreds of thousands of troops outside its own territory and has fought many wars in other countries, said Hua.
"Being such a country that deploys troops and shows off force all over the world, the U.S. has absolutely no reason or right to criticize other countries," she said.
Secondly, China pursues the greater good and shared interests when conducting mutually beneficial cooperation with other developing countries, said Hua. "We do our best to provide assistance to them with no political strings attached. Our cooperation has effectively advanced local economic and social development and improved people's lives. It is warmly welcomed by developing countries."
Hua again stressed that the world knows clearly who is breaking international rules and who is upholding them, citing a Chinese saying that goes "Stand upright and your shadow will not be crooked" to make her point.
