Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday the United States' so-called competition is meant to contain and suppress China in all respects and get the two countries locked in a zero sum game.
Qin made the remarks at a press conference in Beijing on the sidelines of the ongoing first session of the 14th National People's Congress, the nation's top legislature.

He said the recent unmanned airship incident revealed something fundamental in China-US relations. "In this case, the United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted. It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge. This is like the first button in the shirt being put wrong. The result is that the US- China policy has entirely deviated from the rational and soundtrack."

"If the United States does not hit the brake but continue to speed down the wrong path，no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing. And there will surely be conflict and confrontation," he said. Qin said US so-called competition is "a reckless gamble with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity. Naturally, China is firmly opposed to all this."

He urged the United States to meet China half way to put the China-US relations back on the right track.