Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a press conference on Sunday on the sidelines of the third session of the 13th National People's Congress and answered questions of journalists from home and overseas on China's foreign policy and foreign relations. He also criticized the US for slowing its nuclear negotiations with North Korea and warned it not to cross Beijing's "red line" on Taiwan.

"It is also wishful thinking for the U.S. to change China", Wang said today during his annual news briefing on the sidelines of National People's Congress (NPC) meetings in Beijing.

Wang Yi also warned the US against trying to change China, defended Beijing's handling of the pandemic and made a case for more control of Hong Kong in a news conference that lasted over an hour and a half.

Longstanding friction between the two powers over trade, human rights and other issues have been pushed to new heights since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Analysts at A2 Global Risk said it is common for China to use nationalistic and xenophobic rhetoric to deflect criticism against the government in light of the downside risk of slowing economic growth. "This is risky and will endanger global peace".

He did not specify what those forces were, but said they were "pushing our two countries to the brink of a new Cold War". "We urge the USA side to fully appreciate the great sensitivity of the Taiwan question".

Wang Yanyi said the centre had "isolated and obtained some coronaviruses from bats" but stressed that these were sufficiently different to Covid-19. The comments came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un - who has faced questions about his health - made his first public statement in three weeks, ordering military leaders to increase the country's "nuclear war deterrence". The move drew swift condemnation from pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, who defied virus-related social-distancing measures and rallied in the city center even as Wang spoke.

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo called the measure a "disastrous proposal" and indicated that it could lead the U.S. to reconsider Hong Kong's special trade status.

Chinese Foreign Minster Wang Yi said the United States had been infected by a "political virus" compelling figures there to continually attack China. He didn't directly address potential US retaliation over the legislation.

China remains prepared to work with the United States in the spirit of cooperation and mutual respect, Wang said, when asked if Sino-US relations would further worsen.

The Chinese top diplomat asserted that no one can spoil the ties between China and Africa, citing the great solidarity shown by over 50 African leaders to his country during the critical phase of the fight against the pandemic. The pandemic has cost nearly 100,000 American lives and resulted in tens of millions in job losses.

Flags of US and China are placed for a meeting between Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and China's Minister of Agriculture Han Changfu at the Ministry of Agriculture in Beijing, China June 30, 2017. "We comply with any new U.S. Department of Commerce rules and regulations". "We call on all nations to come together and build a better world for all", he said.

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