The United States is
getting ready to host leaders of India, Australia and Japan for the first-ever
in-person Quad summit on September 24, and China is not happy. Hitting out at US
President Joe Biden, China said on Tuesday that formation of “cliques” targeting
other countries “won’t be popular” and has “no future”.

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The Quad summit,
the first in-person meeting of the coalition, will see Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese premier Yoshihide
Suga meet in Washington to discuss geopolitics. On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that cooperation between countries
should not target third parties.

“China believes
that any regional cooperation framework should go with the trend of the times
and be conducive to mutual trust and cooperation between the regional
countries. It should not target any third party or harm their interests,” the
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson added, reports PTI.

Lijian further
said that to form exclusive cliques targeting other countries does not conform
with the country’s aspirations. “I want to stress that China is not only in an
engine for economic growth in Asia Pacific, it is also the main force
safeguarding peace.” China is good news for the region, Lijian asserted.

“Relevant countries
should abandon the obsolete Cold War mentality and narrow-minded geopolitical
rivalry concept and view correctly and respect people’s aspiration in the
region and do more things conducive to regional solidarity and cooperation,”
said the Chinese spokesperson.

The Quad was
formed in 2017 by India, Japan, the United States and Australia to give shape
to a long-pending coalition to keep critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific
free of any influence. The first Quad summit was organised by US President Joe
Biden in March. The event was organised in a virtual format owing to pandemic
precautions.

According to Quad
leaders, the coalition aims to strive for an Indo-Pacific region that is free,
open, inclusive, anchored by democratic values, and unconstrained by coercion.
The Quad summit will take place on September 24 amid increasingly aggressive
behaviour by China in the region.