China foreign minister calls US ‘troublemaker of the world’

China’s foreign minister on Friday labelled the United States the “troublemaker of the world,” citing the Trump administration’s withdrawal from a number of international treaties. Wang Yi said the U.S. had conceded its right to international leadership and had “seriously damaged the foundation of the hard-won mutual trust between China and the U.S.”

“We are willing to resolve the contradictions and differences with the U.S. through dialogues and discussions based on equality and mutual respect, but we will never accept any unilateral sanction or bullying,” he said.

Washington’s departure from international agreements had ”brought many problems and troubles to the international community, and has made the US the troublemaker of the world today,” Wang said.

Wang’s remarks come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over trade, politics and allegations of the theft of intellectual property by China.

Addressing a conference on Chinese foreign policy, Wang said that the U.S. had ”launched deliberate attacks and defamation” against China over issues concerning China’s ”territorial sovereignty, national dignity and core interests.” They include human rights and the northwestern region of Xinjiang, where authorities have detained more than 1 million minority Muslims in political reeducation camps.