Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks in an interview with Reuters in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Qing)

China criticized U.S. hegemony, saying a small group of U.S. politicians has become the biggest destroyer of international rules and order in an attempt to suppress China to win the election and maintain its unipolar hegemony, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday when talking to French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Noting the speeches made by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that criticized China's social system and tries to divide the Communist Party of China from the Chinese people, Wang pointed out that the Pompeo's remarks aim to trigger a confrontation between different ideologies and bring the whole world back to the age of Cold War.

Wang warned the world in the crisis of division, and the destiny of the whole mankind will also be in danger if the relationships between China and the U.S. turns to adversarial.

The "America First" slogans made by some politicians, according to Wang, reflects the U.S. intention of unilateralism. He said the number of international treaties and organizations the U.S. withdrew, under Trump's administration, has far more than any other time.

The U.S. has become the biggest destroyer of international order, said Wang, adding it has stood at the opposite side of the historical trend as well as the international society.

Wang said China is determined to take countermeasures against moves that infringe upon China's legitimate rights and interests.

"China never makes provocations and always exercises maximum restraint," he said, noting that the closure of the U.S. Consulate General in Chengdu was a legitimate and necessary countermeasure against the U.S., which had forcefully shut down China's Consulate General in Houston.

China and the U.S. should engage in rational communication, he said. "We will never allow a small group of anti-China forces to overturn the successful accumulation of exchanges and cooperation between China and the U.S. over the past decades, nor will we allow ideological prejudices to sabotage the future development of China-U.S. relations."

In the world, other countries should make joint efforts to maintain solidarity and cooperation among the international community and prevent a new Cold War of conflicts and confrontation, Wang stressed.

He expressed confidence in the world's future, adding that peace and cooperation will be the choice of the times and the people.