Washington is pushing relations with Bei Jing to “the brink of a new Cold War”, China’s foreign minister said on Sunday. The bombshell statement came on the backdrop of rising tensions over the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong’s protest and other issues reports the Times of India.
“It has come to our attention that some political forces in the US are taking China-US relations hostage and pushing our two countries to the brink of a new Cold War,” foreign minister Wang Yi told reporters.

Longstanding tension between the two world powers regarding trade, human rights and other key issues have sent the discord to new heights since the novel coronavirus outbreak.

And although Wang didn’t specify what “forces” he was talking about, President Trump has led international criticism of Bei Jing’s negligent response to the outbreak, which is responsible for over 330,000 deaths as well as economic devastation worldwide.

China’s latest bill which consists of a proposal to impose a security decree in Hong Kong to quash the semi-autonomous city’s pro-democracy movement on Friday also drew condemnation from both the US and  the world.

Wang also accused the US of trying to repeatedly “attack and smear” the People’s Republic.