China says it was smeared in Biden State of the Union speech
China says it was smeared in U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union address that repeatedly mentioned competition between the two countries.
China does not fear competing with the U.S. but is "opposed to defining the entire China-U.S. relationship in terms of competition," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing Wednesday.
"It is not the practice of a responsible country to smear a country or restrict the country's legitimate development rights under the excuse of competition, even at the expense of disrupting the global industrial and supply chain," Mao said.
China will defend its interests and the U.S. should work with it to "promote the return of bilateral relations to a track of sound and stable development," she said.
Mao's comments came against a background of raging disputes over trade, Taiwan, human rights and access to advanced technologies.
Biden mentioned China and its leader, Xi Jinping, at least seven times in his address Tuesday night, focusing mainly on how the U.S. was increasingly prepared to compete with Beijing while also seeking to avoid conflict.
"I've made clear with President Xi that we seek competition, not conflict," Biden said.
"I will make no apologies that we are investing to make America strong. Investing in American innovation, in industries that will define the future, and that China's government is intent on dominating," he said.
Biden said his administration is "committed to work with China where it can advance American interests and benefit the world."
However, he also warned that "if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country," a pointed reference to the shooting down on Saturday of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had traversed the continental United States.
China says the balloon was an unmanned civilian airship used for meteorological research and has strongly protested the U.S. action while threatening unspecified countermeasures.
The incident prompted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a trip to China this week that had stirred hopes of reversing the continued deterioration of relations between Beijing and Washington.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Budget 2023 prioritizes pocketbook help and clean economy, deficit projected at $40.1B
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.

Freeland's green economy spending aimed at competing with U.S. Inflation Reduction Act
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says clean energy and green technology spending may not have been the big-ticket items of the 2023 federal budget if it weren’t for the need to compete with infrastructure spending in the United States.
Federal government capping excise tax on alcohol after outcry
The increase in excise duties on all alcoholic products is being temporarily capped at two per cent starting next month instead of a planned 6.3 per cent increase.
opinion | The gun control debate in America has been silenced
In the wake of another deadly mass shooting in America, that saw children as young as nine years old shot and killed, the gun control debate is going nowhere, writes CTV News political analyst Eric Ham.
Was Stonehenge a giant calendar? New research suggests maybe not
Stonehenge's purpose has long been a mystery, with some researchers proposing that it may have been an ancient solar calendar. But now, new analysis suggests the calendar theory is unsubstantiated.
Kids would rather learn from smart robots than less-smart humans: new study
A new study published by Canadian researchers suggests that kindergarten-age children would rather be taught by a competent robot than an incompetent human.
‘Using waste material makes sense’: Mysterious artist Junko turns trash into giant sculptures
A mysterious, Montreal-based street artist named Junko is generating buzz in Metro Vancouver with futuristic, bug-like sculptures made from old car parts, scrap metal and tossed out shoes.
New research finds subtle brain changes in pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s patients
A new peer-reviewed study from the Medical University of South Carolina report in Brain Connectivity has found individualized brain fingerprints which can help diagnose early Alzheimer's disease.
Hamilton family raising awareness about Strep A after sudden death of toddler
A Hamilton, Ont., family is hoping to raise awareness about Strep A after the tragic death of their two-year-old.