BEIJING, Jan 16: Beijing on Thursday slammed "unwarranted attacks" against it after Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state Marco Rubio condemned "dangerous" China to fellow senators at a confirmation hearing.
"The US side must establish a correct understanding of China, cease unwarranted attacks and smear campaigns against China," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular briefing.
Rubio, who is expected to secure confirmation easily, described China on Wednesday as "the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever faced" and warned of drastic impacts if the United States does not act.
He also vowed to ramp up defences of Taiwan, the self-governing democratic island claimed by Beijing, to prevent a "cataclysmic military intervention".
On Thursday Beijing, which is nervously eyeing massive tariffs vowed by incoming President Trump, said it "always approached and handled Sino-US relations based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation". —AFP
