AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): According to reports, China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe told a gathering of top military officials that China needed to further bolster its fighting spirit as “the Sino-US strategic confrontation has entered a period of high risk.”
“The United States has intensified the suppression and containment of our side since the [coronavirus] outbreak, and the Sino-US strategic confrontation has entered a period of high risk," Wei said.
“We must strengthen our fighting spirit, be daring to fight and be good at fighting, and use fighting to promote stability,” he added.
During the session, Zhu Cheng, head of the Chinese Air Force's armament department, also said that rivalry between China and the West was intensifying in different fields, including the cyber, space, deep sea and biological spheres.
He said that China needs to speed up “the application of home-grown innovative and revolutionary technologies.”
"We need to avoid the strategic vulnerabilities caused by generation lapse with the United States and the West,” he said.
A navy officer told the session, "In the face of the US's dogged confrontation and the sudden blow of the coronavirus pandemic, Chairman Xi [Jinping] has led us to overcome the difficulties and turn danger into opportunities.”
On Wednesday, President Xi ordered the armed forces to “comprehensively” strengthen the training of troops and be prepared for war.
Relations between the two world powers have hit the lowest level in decades amid an escalation of the war of words over the pandemic, the Taiwan sovereignty and Hong Kong security law.
China to use force against Taiwan as last resort
Head of China's parliament, Li Zhanshu said on Friday that Beijing will use force against Taiwan, “if the possibility for peaceful reunification is lost.”
He said China will “take all necessary steps to resolutely smash any separatist plots or actions” in the self-ruled island.
Li, who is also the ruling Communist Party's third most senior leader, said Beijing does “not promise to abandon the use of force… to stabilize and control the situation in the Taiwan Strait.”
Hong Kong warns US against revoking special status
In a related development, the semi-autonomous territory of Hong Kong warned the US against interfering in its internal affairs after the United States threatened to revoke the city’s special status over new a security law.
“Any sanctions are a double-edged sword that will not only harm the interests of Hong Kong but also significantly those of the US," Hong Kong's government said late Thursday.
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