(CNN)China's
goal is not to replace the United States as the world's leading country, the Chinese Ambassador to the US said Thursday. "Our goal is to meet the growing inspiration of the Chinese people for better life. Our goal is not to compete with, or replace any other country," Cui Tiankai told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview.
"This has never been our national strategy," Cui added.
The Chinese Ambassador was responding to comments made earlier on Thursday by US President Joe Biden, who said that China had "an overall goal of becoming the leading country in the world, the wealthiest country in the world and the most powerful country in the world."
"It's not going to happen on my watch," added Biden, who spoke at length about his administration's goals with China during his first presidential news conference on Thursday.
Biden's remarks followed an acrimonious first face-to-face meeting between US and Chinese officials in Anchorage, Alaska last week, where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement that the Biden administration would bring up "deep concerns" about some of China's actions around the world was met with immediate pushback from Chinese counterparts.
