China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, has said he expects the United States to be a dominant global power for a long time to come.
Minister Yi made the comments during a 40 minute interview with Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Mansour.
“From what we know about the country, the United States will probably remain the world's No 1 for a fairly long time to come,” he said. “But this does not mean that the world can only be led by one country, which, in fact, is simply impossible. We need greater international cooperation to ensure a better future for our planet.”
The comments came in refute to a somewhat leading question on American decline.
The Chinese Foreign Minister also had strong words for the US, which he blamed for leading and escalating military build-up in the South China Sea.
“Who is engaging in massive military exercises in this region? Who is sending a lot of advanced weaponry to the South China Sea and building new military bases? The answer is all too clear: the United States,” he said.
The United States and Australia have been conducting “freedom of navigation” operations in the contested area of the South China Sea.
China is attempting to assert sovereignty over a number of islands and their maritime boundaries by building ports and landing strips. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan dispute the Chinese claims, supported by Australia and the United States, among others.
The South China Sea is one of the world’s most important shipping routes, with surrounding countries also considering the area vital for military defence.
"There is every evidence, every day that there has been an increase of militarisation of one kind or another — it's of serious concern," US Secretary of State John Kerry said recently, referring to China's island construction projects.
In the interview, Yi also claimed that North Korea – the ‘DPRK’ – had a strong interest in a peace treaty.
“Security is its top concern, so it wants to replace the armistice agreement with a peace treaty to ensure its national security. This is understandable, while the United States and other countries, including China, hope that the DPRK will give up its nuclear program and the de-nuclearisation of the peninsula can be achieved,” he said.
