Wang: US should follow trend of multipolarization

China is not interested in engaging in hegemony or replacing the United States, which "has kept defaming and cracking down on China", State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.

China will firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests, and at the same time hopes to talk with the US so that the latter will "follow the historic trend" of multipolarization and democratization of international relations, and treat ties with China properly, Wang said.

Wang made the remarks during a videoconference with foreign ministers of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The US has "totally negated" the China policies it pursued for several decades, portrays China as its major rival and attempts to contain China's development, leading to the continued deterioration of bilateral ties, Wang said.

The differences between the two countries are not about power, status or social systems, but about the choice between multilateralism and unilateralism and between win-win cooperation and a zero-sum game, Wang said.

The development of globalization has made all countries become "a community with shared interests", and any attempt to maintain one's own monopoly, blackmail others or constrain their development is "doomed to fail", he said.

China hopes to continue its close cooperation with ASEAN members as the COVID-19 pandemic is becoming prolonged and regular prevention and control measures are becoming necessary, Wang said.

He added that China stands ready to propose an initiative on public health cooperation with ASEAN, and will prioritize the needs of ASEAN countries when its vaccines are put into use.

Urging both sides to work vigorously to promote regional economic recovery, Wang said China will give priority to expanding the value of local currency swaps with ASEAN countries, further expand their "fast lanes" for personnel exchanges and increase the number of commercial flights between them.

China also hopes to get the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership signed this year, Wang said, calling for the steady development of interconnectivity infrastructures and better coordination of data security policies between China and ASEAN.

ASEAN hopes to deepen cooperation with China in free trade, sustainable development, digital economy and innovation, foreign ministers from ASEAN countries said at the meeting.

They also said that ASEAN welcomes the progress made in talks for a code of conduct in the South China Sea, and agreed with China that the talks should be accelerated to form substantive and effective rules.