In light of the first in-person Quad Leaders Summit to be hosted by United States (US) President Joe Biden at the White House on 24 September, China said on Tuesday, 14 September, “to form exclusive cliques targeting other countries does not conform with the country's aspirations, won't be popular and has no future”, news agency PTI reported.
The Quad summit will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia and Japanese premier Yoshihide Suga. Modi will also address the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York on 25 September.
Stressing that cooperation between the countries should not target third parties, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, "China believes that any regional cooperation framework should go with the trend of the times and be conducive to mutual trust and cooperation between the regional countries. It should not target any third party or harm their interests."
He asserted that China is “not only an engine for economic growth in Asia Pacific, it is also the main force safeguarding peace.”
Lijian was further quoted as saying, "Relevant countries should abandon the obsolete Cold War mentality and narrow-minded geopolitical rivalry concept and view correctly and respect people's aspiration in the region and do more things conducive to regional solidarity and cooperation” PTI reported.
India, Japan, the US and Australia in November 2017, set up the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) in order to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.
Meanwhile, China claims almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory and has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, PTI reported.
(With inputs from PTI)
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