Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman began her visit to China on Sunday. One day later, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with her, while Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng held talks with her. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the talks were in-depth, frank, and beneficial to the relationship between the two countries.

Xie's expression of strong dissatisfaction with the US, as seen in a briefing of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, drew praise on the internet. Xie sharply criticized the US' "competitive, collaborative and adversarial rhetoric," in which "the real emphasis is on the adversarial aspect, as the collaborative aspect is just an expediency, and the competitive aspect is a narrative trap." He said the US wants to "do bad things and get good results." "How is that ever possible?" asked Xie. He then continued by criticizing the US' arrogant approach in dealing with other countries "from a position of strength." Xie even called the US the "inventor, and patent and intellectual property owner" of coercive diplomacy.

In the past, China had stressed on creating a good atmosphere for China-US talks. Even if the two sides had very heated discussions, China might not inform the public about such talks. This time, China quickly made public Xie's tough statement at the Tianjin talks. This has solidified an important posture adjustment in China's approach to dealing with the US that began with the Anchorage talks: We will no longer make unilateral efforts to maintain the public opinion atmosphere in China-US relations.

The basis for such changes is that Chinese society has become fed up with the bossy US and we hold no more illusion that China and the US would substantially improve ties in the foreseeable future. The Chinese public strongly supports the government to safeguard national dignity in its ties with the US and firmly push back the various provocations from the US. In the face of the malicious China containment and confrontational policy adopted by the two recent US administrations, the Chinese people are willing to form a united front, together bear the consequences of not yielding to the US, and win for the country's future through struggles.

In other words, Chinese society would unconditionally support whatever tough counterattacks the Chinese government would launch in the face of US-initiated conflicts in all directions toward China. The US should abandon forever the idea of changing China's system and policies through sanctions, containment and intimidation.

We hope US allies in the Asia-Pacific, especially Japan and Australia, can weigh the situation. They should not act as accomplices of the US' China containment policy and place themselves at the forefront of confronting China, or they are betting their own future.

During the Tianjin talks, China delivered two lists of major concerns to the US that require Washington to change its course. Much of the content relates to the basic rights of Chinese people and institutions. China is not begging the US. Rather, the US, supposedly a responsible major power, should correct itself.

The US must accept a basic reality: China has developed faster than the US in recent years, and the trend of China's economy exceeding that of the US in the future is irreversible. The US needs to learn to live in peace with a strong and independent China. It is the US' illusion to contain China's development and to bring China to chaos and collapse like the way it did to the Soviet Union. By doing that, the US will only mess up the world order and intensify conflicts between major powers. China's system will ensure that we have a greater tolerance for chaos than the US does.

For the Chinese people, we want to say that we should not take Xie's words as venting our anger. What Xie said is also a warning that China-US relations are likely to fall in the long run. China must accelerate the building of its comprehensive strength and prepare for the worst-case scenario of escalating confrontation with the US and its main allies. The US wants to use strategic containment to crush China, and we must use continuous development and strength building to crush the US' will. Development is China's most important source of strength. We must make the American people more and more aware of how stupid they are to forcibly shape China into a strategic opponent.

While the US is putting most of its efforts into its diplomatic layout on China, China needs to put most of its efforts into doing its own things well. That way, China will continue to advance and become unstoppable.