Any attempt to contain or block China doomed to fail: spokesman

Any attempt to contain or block China is doomed to fail, said a spokesman for China's Ministry of National Defense on Thursday.

Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, the spokesman, made the statement at a press conference in Beijing when he was asked to comment on the 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) released by the Pentagon, which says that the United States will deter China in the Asia-Pacific through strength, not confrontation, and seek a wider range of military-to-military communications with the PLA, so as to maintain strategic stability with China and allow for a decent peace. At the same time, the strategy says the United States will erect a strong denial defense along the First Island Chain to achieve a balance of military power in the region.

"Facts have proven that any attempt to contain or block China is doomed to fail. Following the principle of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation is the right approach for China and the United States to deal with each other. We are willing to work with the U.S. side to promote steady development of bilateral relations. At the same time, we will resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests. We hope the U.S. side can take an objective and rational perception of China, hold the bottom line of non-conflict and non-confrontation, stop hyping up the so-called 'China military threat,' stop inciting bloc confrontation, stop saying one thing while doing the opposite on issues concerning China's core interests, and make concrete efforts to promote sound and steady development of the military-to-military relationship," he said.

Any attempt to contain or block China doomed to fail: spokesman

Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, met with visiting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Beijing on Thursday morning.

Starmer arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin a four-day official visit at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, marking the first visit by a British prime minister to China in eight years.

Zhao noted that nurturing sound China-UK relations carries significant importance for the times and for the world amid an international landscape undergoing a period of turbulence and transformation.

He said that since Starmer took office in July 2024, Chinese leaders have engaged in phone calls and meetings with the British side, steering bilateral relations onto a track of improvement and development.

China is willing to work with the UK to uphold the strategic partnership, maintain a positive, pragmatic, stable and mutually beneficial direction, properly manage differences, and ensure that China-UK relations develop in a steady, substantive, and far-reaching manner, Zhao said.

Zhao also expressed China's readiness to work with the UK to restore normal exchanges between the two countries' legislative bodies and welcomed British parliamentarians to visit China to gain a true, multi-dimensional and panoramic understanding of the country.

For his part, Starmer noted the UK and China share extensive common interests, and said the UK is willing to develop a long-term, consistent strategic partnership with China. He affirmed that the UK's longstanding policy on the Taiwan question remains unchanged and expressed hope for the resumption of normal exchanges between the two legislatures.

China's top legislator meets British PM in Beijing