China urges US to stop serving own hegemony with other countries' legitimate interests

China urges the United States to stop serving its own hegemony at the cost of other countries' legitimate interests, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun at a regular press conference on Friday.

On Wednesday, Ambassador Fu Cong of the Permanent Mission of China to the UN chaired the UN Security Council Arria-Formula Meeting on "the Impact of Unilateralism and Bullying Practices on International Relations." Representatives from over 80 countries, including UN Security Council members, attended the meeting.

Share information on the meeting, Guo said, "China stressed at the meeting that the U.S. tariff levies severely infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, severely violate the WTO rules, and severely disrupt the global economic order. It is essentially about subverting the existing international economic and trade order by means of tariffs, putting the U.S. interests above the common good of the international community, and serving U.S. hegemony at the cost of other countries' legitimate interests."

"The world needs openness and inclusiveness, not closure and isolation, sovereign equality, not the strong bullying the weak, fairness and justice, not putting one's own country first, and solidarity and cooperation, not division and confrontation. The international community must make the right choice, make its unified voice heard, and take joint actions. Many countries at the meeting called for upholding multilateralism, strengthening dialogue and cooperation, safeguarding the WTO-centered multilateral trade regime, abiding by the UN Charter and basic norms governing international relations, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and promoting the stability and development of all countries," he continued.

"We hope the U.S. will face up to the widespread concerns and strong call from the international community at the meeting, stop unilateral measures and bullying practices targeting other countries, and stop serving its own hegemony at the cost of other countries' legitimate interests. The world should not return to the law of the jungle where the strong bully the weak. The U.S. should not go further down the wrong path," the spokesman said.

China urges US to stop serving own hegemony with other countries' legitimate interests

Officials from the European Union (EU) and Finland have voiced concerns after the White House said it has been discussing "a range of options" to acquire Greenland, including the use of the military.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told a press briefing in Cairo on Thursday that the message from the U.S. is "extremely concerning," and "not really helping the stability of the world."

Kallas called on all parties to stick to international law, adding that relevant response measures has been discussed among EU members.

"The international law is very clear, and we have to stick to it. It is clear that it is the only thing that protects smaller countries, and that is why it is in the interest of all of us. And we discussed this today, as well, that we uphold the international law on all levels," she said.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Thursday described recent remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his administration on Greenland as "worrying," while reiterating Finland's support for Denmark and Greenland's right to self-determination.

"Finland and the other Nordic countries have exceptional expertise in Arctic conditions, and we are happy to make use of that together with our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to strengthen Arctic security, but it cannot be done by threatening allies," she said at a press conference at Finnish parliament after an extraordinary meeting of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee.

Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said it was "unprecedented" for threats of violence to be made within NATO against another member in connection with seizing territory, adding that such threats run counter to the United Nations Charter and that their inconsistency with international law should be underscored at all levels.

EU, Finnish officials express concerns over US remarks on Greenland