BEIJING – Beijing criticised the “outdated Cold War mentality” of theUnited States Wednesday after President Donald Trump named China amongthreats to American values in his State of the Union address.

In recent weeks, US officials have laid the groundwork for a strategicpivot that envisions a world of renewed great power competition with thelikes of Russia and China.

In his State of the Union address to Congress and the nation on Tuesday,Trump described Moscow and Beijing as challenging “our interests, oureconomy, and our values”.

In Beijing Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the common interestsof the US and China “far outweigh our differences and disagreements”.

A steady relationship with the United States is “also in the interest ofthe whole world,” Li said after meeting with British Prime Minister TheresaMay.

“China hopes that the United States will work with us and continue to viewthis relationship in a positive overall perspective,” he said.

But Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying had more criticalwords.

“We hope the US side can abandon the outdated Cold War mentality to workfor the shared goal with China of properly managing our differences andupholding the steady development of China-US relations,” she told a regularpress briefing. AFP