China Criticizes Bush Over Iraq
On the eve of the U.S. presidential vote, China accused President Bush today of trying to “rule over the whole world,” saying the Iraq war had destroyed the global anti-terrorism coalition and worsened religious and ethnic conflicts.
The pointed criticism was a departure from China’s past refusal to comment on the U.S. presidential candidates.
It came in a commentary in a state newspaper by Vice Premier Qian Qichen, a key architect of Chinese foreign policy.
“Washington opened a Pandora’s box,” Qian wrote in the English-language China Daily. “The Iraq war was an optional one, not a necessary one.”
Qian said that “the troubles and disasters” facing the United States stem “from its own cocksureness and arrogance.”
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