BEIJING: The Chinese foreign minister on Tuesday pitched his country as a guardian of stability, praising deepened regional ties while condemning trade wars and vowing to counter US arms sales to Taiwan.

“This year, economic globalisation has taken a severe hit and tariff wars have disrupted the international trade order,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a speech in Beijing.

“Facing a chaotic situation for world peace, China is an anchor of stability.”

Earlier this year US President Donald Trump announced levies of over 100 per cent on Chinese goods, with Beijing responding with high tariffs of its own.

Tensions cooled months later after Trump met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea and they agreed to a one-year reprieve.

Chinese FM says any attempt to obstruct unification with Taiwan will fail

Speaking at an annual international relations symposium, Wang did not single out Washington for causing trade chaos, but said “cooperation between China and the United States benefits both sides while confrontation harms both”.

He also warned the United States, whose relationship with China he said was one of the world’s most important, against interfering with Beijing’s national interests.

Earlier this month, Taipei said Washington had approved an $11-billion arms package, angering Beijing and prompting large-scale military drills around the island.

“In response to the continuous provocations by pro-independence forces in Taiwan and the large-scale US arms sales to Taiwan, we must resolutely oppose and forcefully counter them,” Wang said.

His comments came about an hour after China’s military said it conducted live fire drills off Taiwan, drawing condemnation from the democratic island.

Wang added that any attempt to obstruct China’s unification with Taiwan “will inevitably end in failure”.

He also highlighted Chinese President Xi’s visits to Southeast Asia and Russia as evidence of the country’s expanding regional role.

Wang also praised China’s efforts in mediating conflicts in northern Myanmar, between Pakistan and India, and Thailand and Cambodia, as well as supporting nuclear diplomacy with Iran.

Missiles fired during drills

China launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter aircraft and navy vessels around Taiwan on Tuesday for a second day of live-fire drills aimed at simulating a blockade of the self-ruled island’s key ports and assaults on maritime targets.

Journalists in Pingtan, a Chinese island at the closest point to Taiwan’s main island, saw a volley of rockets blast into the air, leaving trails of white smoke.

At least 10 were launched in quick succession, sending a booming sound reverberating across the sky and drawing tourists towards the seafront to snap photos and videos on their phones.

Taiwanese authorities counted 27 rockets fired by Chinese forces during the day.

China’s Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) said in a statement that it had “conducted long-range live fire drills in the waters to the north of the Taiwan Island and achieved desired effects”.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2025