(March 7): China’s foreign minister blasted the US for imposing a “bewildering” level of trade curbs on the Asian nation, as President Joe Biden’s campaign to block Beijing from advanced tech undermines a steadying of ties between the world’s largest economies.

“The US has been devising various tactics to suppress China and keeps lengthening its unilateral sanctions list, reaching bewildering levels of unfathomable absurdity,” Wang Yi said at the Foreign Minister’s annual press briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

“If the US is obsessed with suppressing China, it will eventually harm itself,” Wang added, warning Washington against trying to keep his country at the bottom of the value chain.

The top diplomat’s comments come as the Biden administration is pressing allies including the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea and Japan to further tighten restrictions on access to semiconductor technology. The US says its sweeping controls on Beijing’s ability to access sophisticated chips are based on national security concerns that such technology could be used to bolster Beijing’s military power.

Wang said that while tensions with the US have improved since President Xi Jinping met Biden in San Francisco last November, the US had failed to fulfil all the “promises” it made during that summit, without elaborating.

The nuclear-armed superpowers are still at odds over Russia’s war in Ukraine, Beijing’s territorial claims over Taiwan and trade, despite the recent fragile stabilization. Access to advanced technology has stood out as a major sticking point as China seeks to become a leader in high-end chips to ensure long-term growth for its ailing economy. China’s announcement of an around 5% growth target for 2024 this week was met with broad skepticism, underscoring the challenges policymakers face in the months ahead.

Wang stated that blocking China from artificial intelligence could have “historical consequences,” and said Beijing will submit a proposal on strengthening international cooperation in this field to the United Nations General Assembly.

A member of the 24-seat Politburo, Wang resumed the foreign minister post after Qin Gang was ousted in July without explanation, just seven months into the job. At the same press conference last year, Qin warned soaring US-China tensions risked blowing past any guardrails in the relationship. That briefing came just weeks after an alleged Chinese spy balloon derailed what was then a nascent rapprochement.

During Wang’s 90-minute briefing, he vowed China would continue to deepen its diplomatic support of Russia as President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine grinds into its third year. He also blasted the European Union’s characterisation of China as a competitor and systemic rival as jarring with reality, amid the bloc’s stepped up scrutiny of trade with China.

Despite that, the foreign minister announced the rollout of visa-free access for countries including Austria and Hungary starting from March 14, as China tries to woo more foreign investors into the nation.

Wang also repeated the Communist Party’s long-stated position that Taiwan is a part of China and “will never be allowed to split from the motherland.” Wang dismissed a poll held on the democratically run island in January, which brought to power a man Beijing has branded a “troublemaker,” as “a local election in China.”

“Whoever in the world connives and supports Taiwan independence will get burned for playing with fire,” he added.