China on Quad, it will end up nowhere and get no support

China said on Monday that no "exclusive cliques" should be formed as it accused some countries of trying to "drive a wedge" among regional nations citing the "China threat" and asserted that the four-member Quad will "end up nowhere", if it does not abandon its ideological bias and cold war mentality, underscoring its opposition to the bloc. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing. "What they have done is against the trend of times which is peace, development and win-win cooperation and runs counter to the common aspirations of people in the region,” he said. "They will gain no support and will end up nowhere," he said.

He was answering a question about the first Leaders’ Summit of the Quad countries and the reported remarks by US National Secretary Advisor Jake Sullivan that the four leaders discussed the challenge posed by China and said all four believed the democracies could help compete with autocracy."For some time, some countries have been exaggerating the so-called ‘China threat’. China challenges to drive a wedge among regional countries to sow discord between their relations with China,” Zhao said. "The state-to-state exchanges and cooperation should be conducive for improving mutual understanding and trust among the countries and should not be targeted against and undermine the interests of third parties," he said. China’s response to the Quad has gone through a diplomatic tonal shift, apparent from State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s statements.