China has expressed its stance that the United States and China should break away from their “bad competition” as the U.S. Department of Defense included the so-called “Ukrainian-style” weapons support for Taiwan in next year’s defense budget. Although there was a backlash, it can be said that the level of response was entirely moderated.
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Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated at a regular press briefing on the 12th, “We have repeatedly stated our position that “competition” should not be the background color of China-US relations. We have also made it clear on multiple occasions that competition between major powers will not solve the problems faced by China and the U.S.”
He continued, “The so-called ‘compete to win’ in the U.S. is not a positive competition where both countries strive to excel and develop together. It is a malicious competition where traps are set for its rival everywhere,” emphasizing that “this is a big gamble that stakes the fundamental interests of the people of both countries or the fate of mankind, pushing China and the U.S. into confrontation and collision.”
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He also quoted Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs (Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs), who said at a press conference with domestic and foreign journalists on the 7th, “If the U.S. is only focused on suppressing China, it will eventually harm itself.” He added, “We hope the U.S. will correct its wrong perception of China. We hope it will abandon the zero-sum game mindset.”
According to Beijing diplomatic sources on the 12th, it is known that the U.S. Department of Defense included for the first time a budget of $500 million (approximately 657.3 billion won) for “Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA)“ weapons support for Taiwan in the defense budget for the fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), which was made public on the 11th (local time).
PDA is a power that allows the president to transfer military materials held by the U.S. military without separate approval from Congress. It is characterized by the ability to provide quick support because it provides sufficiently stocked items rather than ordering weapons for support. This method is also being used to support weapons for Ukraine, which is currently under attack from Russia.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ position on this day can be seen as somewhat lower than the usual strong tone shown every time the U.S. has supported Taiwan militarily through weapon sales and the like. It seems appropriate to interpret it as expressing that it does not want further conflicts and catastrophes due to the Taiwan issue.
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