Conflict with America inevitable unless they 'hit the brakes': China

The United States (US) should change its “distorted” attitude towards China or “conflict and confrontation” will follow, China's foreign minister said on Tuesday, while defending its stance on the war in Ukraine and defending its close ties with Russia.

The US had been engaging in suppression and containment of China rather than engaging in fair, rule-based competition, Foreign Minister Qin Gang told a news conference on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting in Beijing.

"The United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted," said Qin, a trusted aide to President Xi Jinping and until recently China's ambassador in Washington.

"If the United States does not hit the brakes, and continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailment, which will become conflict and confrontation, and who will bear the catastrophic consequences?" US officials often speak of establishing guardrails in the bilateral relationship to prevent tensions from escalating into crises.

He also attacked the US' Indo-Pacific strategy, saying that it aims to “encircle” China with a regional version of Nato by forming “exclusive blocs” and is bound to fail. The country granted a key ministry new powers and created a bureau to oversee increasingly valuable data, shaking up oversight of its vast technology arena as Xi Jinping’s administration battles the US in areas from AI to semiconductors. Also, the government plans to cut five per cent of its staff. China also plans to strengthen oversight of its $60 trillion financial system by setting up an enlarged national regulator while taking some duties away from the central bank.

Germany to ban Huawei, ZTE for 5G network parts

Germany plans to ban telecoms operators from using certain components made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in 5G networks, a government source said, in a potentially significant move to address security concerns.

The German ban could include components already built into the networks, requiring operators to remove and replace them, German media had reported on Monday, citing sources.

A spokesperson for the interior ministry confirmed that the German government, which is in the midst of a broader re-evaluation of its relationship with top trade partner China, was carrying out a general review of telecoms tech suppliers.

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