China and the US are "heading for war" if America "continues to speed down the wrong path", Beijing has warned.
Qin Gang, China's Foreign Minister, slammed Washington's support for Taiwan during a press conference on Tuesday as he praised Beijing's growing relationship with Russia which "set an example for global foreign relations".
He suggested America were trying to obstruct peace in Ukraine in order to benefit from Vladimir Putin's invasion.
The comments come after reports suggested China is contemplating sending weapons to Russia in a bid to help Moscow's brutal war against Ukraine.
During his comprehensive press conference, the minister said China would not accept "blame-shifting, sanctions, suppression and threats" from the West.
The comments follow President Xi Jinping's latest swipe at America after he urged the US to become more self-reliant.
The US, along with a number of its Western allies, has placed restrictions on China including the tightening of Chinese chipmakers which are said to be a national security concern.
Mr Qin Gang said the relationship between China and the US should be focusing on mutual interests and friendship rather than "US domestic politics and hysterical neo-McCarthyism."
He said: "Washington 'means to contain and suppress China in all respects and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game.
"It's so-called establishing guardrails and not seeking conflict simply means that China should not respond in words or action when slandered or attacked.
"That is just impossible."
He then warned if the US "continues down the wrong path" there will be consequences which include conflict.
Mr Qin Gang said: "'If the United States does not hit the brake, but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there surely will be conflict and confrontation.
"Such competition is a reckless gamble, with the stakes being the fundamental interests of the two peoples and even the future of humanity."
Relations between between China and the US are strained after Beijing hit back at an FBI report which said Covid originated from a Chinese lab in Wuhan in 2019.
The foreign ministry claimed the US were "politicising the issue" in a bid to undermine and discredit China.
In addition, he also made reference to America's decision to shoot down suspected Chinese spy balloons last month.
China claimed the balloons flying over the east coast were an accident and had been blown off course - with Beijing believing the US overreacted.
The foreign minister said: "In violation of the spirit of international law, international customary practices, the United States acted with the presumption of guilt.
"'It overreacted, abused force and dramatized the accident, creating a diplomatic crisis that could have been avoided.
"In this case the United States' perception and views of China are seriously distorted. It regards China as its primary rival and the most consequential geopolitical challenge."
