China's envoy calls U.S. 'destroyer of international rules'

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during his virtual meeting with Korean foreign minister in Beijing on Monday. [CHINESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

In a virtual summit with Foreign Minister Park Jin on Monday, China's top envoy called the United States a "destroyer of international rules," according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

“The actions of the United States obviously damaged the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, including China and South Korea, and once again proved that the United States is precisely the destroyer of international rules, not the builder,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi was quoted as saying by the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday, alluding to Washington’s legislation this year ptoecting its semiconductor industry.

The statement was released after Wang spoke with Park over a video call on Monday, their first since they met in Qingdao, Shandong Province, in August.

U.S.-China rivalry in semiconductors was a main topic of discussion then as well.

Washington passed the Chips Act in July, committing $52.7 billion to investment in semiconductor research, development, manufacturing and workforce development in the country.

The law contributed to attracting a $5 billion investment in Texas from GlobalWafers, a Taiwanese wafer maker that initially considered Germany and Korea, according to an interview with the Wall Street Journal by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in September.

In another piece of legislation considered protectionist around the world, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed by President Joe Biden in August, grants up to $7,500 in tax credits to buyers of electric vehicles (EVs) assembled in North America.

It prohibits subsidies for purchases of EVs made outside the United States or with batteries made with Chinese minerals or components.

Korea is concerned about that law because carmakers Hyundai Motors and Kia both make EVs in local plants in Korea.

“All countries should stand up and jointly resist this outdated thinking and unilateral bullying of anti-globalization, and jointly safeguard and practice true multilateralism,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in its statement.

It wasn’t the first time that the Chinese Foreign Ministry released statements criticizing the United States following ministerial meetings with non-U.S. partners. It did so after a foreign ministerial meeting between China and Netherlands and between China and Turkey this year.

“The ministry’s statements following the meetings need to be understood in the whole context of the discussion that took place, because it can focus on a certain section more,” a Korean Foreign Ministry official told the press in Seoul on Tuesday.

The statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday also did not mention a discussion between the two foreign ministers about arranging a visit of President Xi Jinping to Korea, which the Korean Foreign Ministry had highlighted in its description of the meeting.

The last time Xi came to Seoul was in July 2014.

Though the previous Moon Jae-in government made multiple requests for Xi to visit, the Chinese government cited Covid-19 concerns.

Yoon asked Xi to visit Korea during a meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia last month.

“We are continuing our communications with China to make [the visit] happen,” a Foreign Ministry official told the press in Seoul on Tuesday. “For this, both countries must have a need for it, and certain conditions should be met. So the ministerial meeting yesterday was part of that process to creating the right environment.”

In the meeting, Wang stressed that China is willing to “promote the healthy and stable development” of its relations with Korea and work closely together on supply chains and other regional issues, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]