• China’s foreign minister has stated that US-China relations have “seriously deviated”.
• Mr Qin held his first press conference as foreign minister.
• He also said the diplomatic crisis caused by the balloon incident could have been averted.

China’s foreign minister has stated that US-China relations have “seriously deviated,” while also threatening conflict.

“Containment and suppression will not make America great. It will not stop the rejuvenation of China,” said Qin Gang.

On Tuesday, Mr Qin, China‘s former ambassador to the United States, held his first press conference as foreign minister.

Despite recent efforts to improve relations, the spy balloon saga has heightened tensions between the superpowers.

“It [the US] regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge. This is like the first button in the shirt being put wrong,” Mr Qin said.

The foreign minister was responding to a question about whether a healthy US-China relationship was still possible as the two countries’ differences grew.

The US has called for “guardrails,” but what it really wants is for China not to respond with words or actions when provoked, according to Mr Qin.

He was referring to US President Joe Biden’s comments last month that the US would “compete fully with China but [is] not looking conflict”.

Mr Qin said: “If the US does not put on the brakes and continues to roar down the wrong road, no amount of guardrails can stop the derailment and overturning, and it is bound to fall into conflict and confrontation. Who will bear its disastrous consequences?”

He also said the diplomatic crisis caused by the balloon incident could have been averted but the US acted with “the presumption of guilt”.

The suspected spy balloon was previously described as a “clear violation of US sovereignty” by Washington. Beijing acknowledged ownership of the object, but claimed it was a civilian airship that had been blown off course.

Mr Qin claimed that the Ukraine crisis was being driven by a “invisible hand,” but he did not name any country or individual. He reiterated that China had not supplied weapons to either side of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and called for the resumption of peace talks.

“Why should the US demand that China refrain from supplying arms to Russia when it sells arms to Taiwan?” he asked.

The Ukraine crisis has reached a “critical juncture,” according to him.

“Either a ceasefire will stop the war, restore peace and embark on a political settlement, or fuel the fire, expand the crisis and drag it into the abyss of losing control.”

Mr Qin, 56, was appointed China’s foreign minister in December 2022, making him one of the country’s youngest foreign ministers. He took over for Wang Yi, who was promoted to the ruling Communist Party’s politburo in October of that year.

Mr Qin, a trusted aide to Chinese President Xi Jinping, is known as a tough-talking diplomat.

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