Chinese Leadership Warns U.S. of Conflict

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned on March 7 that China and the United States are veering toward “conflict and confrontation” if Washington doesn’t alter course. The statement came just a day after General Secretary Xi Jinping issued unusually direct criticism of the U.S., saying a Washington-led drive to subdue China is the reason for his country’s troubles.

Western countries—led by the U.S.—have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression against us, bringing unprecedentedly severe challenges to our country’s development.
—Xi Jinping

Qin followed this up saying Washington’s China policy has “entirely deviated” from the path of reason and has put the two nations on a collision course.

If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation. Such competition is a reckless gamble, with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity.

—Qin Gang

*Escalation: In previous public remarks, Xi and the upper echelon of the Chinese Communist Party have generally refrained from overt criticism of the United States, opting instead for indirect references that omit any name. The departure from that practice marks an intensification of antagonism and defies hopes that Chinese leaders were transitioning to a softer approach to diplomacy instead of the “wolf warrior” type. This term, named after a Chinese action film, describes a Chinese diplomat who defiantly pursues Chinese hegemony with open disdain for any non-Chinese interests.

*After local press asked Qin if his remarks meant “wolf warrior” diplomacy was China’s best option given global trends, he replied: “If faced with jackals and wolves, China has no choice but to face them head on.”

Times of the Gentiles: China’s increasing aggression is moving the world toward an era the Bible calls “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24), when power-hungry tyrants will dominate. This will be an age when “[m]en’s hearts will be failing them for fear” (verse 26), because these Gentile leaders will rule with little regard for their subjects.

These “times of the Gentiles” are yet to be fully realized. However, we are in the outer edges of this catastrophic storm. … China’s actions prove that Gentiles are rising to power before our eyes! And this is just one of many Gentile nations growing more aggressive on the world scene.
—Gerald Flurry, Trumpet editor in chief

Learn more: Read “What Are the Times of the Gentiles?”