World big enough to accommodate the progress, prosperity of both nations, president tells Blinken
President Xi Jinping meets with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, on June 19. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
President Xi Jinping has urged the United States to respect China, reject major-country competition and honor the positive statements and consensus that were offered at his meeting with US President Joe Biden last year.
Xi made the remarks as he met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 19.
Blinken arrived in China on June 18
for a two-day visit, his first to the country in his current capacity.
Xi pointed out that “the world needs a generally stable China-US relationship”, and “whether the two countries can find the right way to get along bears on the future and destiny of humanity”.
“Planet Earth is big enough to accommodate the respective development and common prosperity of China and the US,” he said.
Speaking on major-country competition as sought by Washington recently, Xi emphasized that such competition “does not represent the trend of the times, still less can it solve the US’ own problems or the challenges facing the world”.
“China respects US interests and does not seek to challenge or displace the US. In the same vein, the US needs to respect China and must not hurt China’s legitimate rights and interests,” he said.
“Neither side should try to shape the other side by its own will, still less deprive the other side of its legitimate right to development,” he added.
When elaborating on the bilateral ties, Xi said China always hopes to see a sound and steady China-US relationship and believes that the two major countries can overcome various difficulties and find the right way to get along based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.
He called on the US to adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude, and work toward the same goal with China.
Xi said the two sides need to remain committed to the common understandings that he and President Biden reached in Bali, Indonesia, last year, and “translate the positive statements into actions so as to stabilize and improve China-US relations”.
Blinken conveyed Biden’s greetings to Xi. He said Biden believes that the US and China have an obligation to responsibly manage their relations, adding that this is in the interests of the US, China and the world. He also said the US is committed to the agenda set by the two presidents in Bali.
The US stands by the commitments made by Biden, namely that Washington does not seek a new Cold War and does not seek to change China’s system, that US alliances are not directed at China, and that it does not support “Taiwan independence” and does not seek conflict with China, Blinken said.
The US looks forward to having high-level engagement with the Chinese side, keeping open lines of communication, responsibly managing differences and pursuing dialogue, exchanges and cooperation, he added.
Observers noted that Xi made his remarks to Blinken at a time when Washington has persisted in suppressing and bullying China while hollowing out the one-China principle, pushing the relations to a new low.
“That’s why many people from outside the two countries have expected that, through the two-way meetings during Blinken’s China visit, the two sides could return to the consensus reached by the two heads of state in Bali,” said Ling Shengli, secretary-general of the International Security Research Center at China Foreign Affairs University.
“Despite various challenges, there is room for the two sides to embark on collaboration, and they could first work on specific issues and affairs and push for the relations’ improvement bit by bit, step by step,” he said.
“The common interests of the two countries should be valued, and their respective success is an opportunity instead of a threat to each other,” Xi said.
The international community is generally concerned about the current state of China-US ties, and it does not want to see conflict or confrontation between China and the US or to take sides, Xi said.
“The two countries should act with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world, and handle China-US relations properly,” he said.
Wu Xinbo, dean of Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies, noted that China-US ties are “still vulnerable and unstable” at present.
With regard to the ties’ ups and downs in the past few months, Wu said key lessons worth noting include that Washington should keep a cool head in case of an accident, and “the US side should be very prudent in tackling matters related to the Taiwan question, which involves China’s core interests”.
On June 18, Beijing and Washington agreed to advance collaboration and exchange of visits during talks between State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang and Blinken.
The two sides agreed to jointly implement the consensus reached at the meeting between President Xi and Biden in Bali last November, and “effectively control differences and promote dialogue, exchanges and cooperation”.
“The two sides had candid, in-depth and constructive talks at length on the overall bilateral ties and important issues,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
The two sides also exchanged views on major international and regional issues of common concern.
Qin’s meeting with Blinken on June 18 was the first of its kind between the two in their current capacities.
At the talks, Beijing and Washington agreed to maintain high-level exchanges.
Blinken invited Qin to visit the US, and Qin expressed his willingness to visit Washington “at a mutually convenient time”.
The two sides agreed to encourage the expansion of cultural and education exchanges between the two countries and to actively discuss an increase in passenger flights between the nations.
Observers noted that earlier this year, ties were strained by matters including Washington’s hyping of a Chinese unmanned civilian airship that strayed into US airspace.
Speaking to Blinken on June 18, Qin noted that “currently, China-US relations are at the lowest point since the establishment of the diplomatic relations”, which is not in line with the fundamental interests of the two peoples and the expectations of the international community.
China’s policy toward the US has always maintained continuity and stability, and it follows the fundamental principle of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, Qin said.
China “is committed to building stable, predictable and constructive China-US relations”, he said, adding that the US is expected to hold an objective and rational view of China, work toward the same goal with China, secure the political foundation of China-US ties, and deal with accidents calmly, professionally and rationally.
The two sides should fully implement the consensus of the meeting between President Xi and Biden in Bali, and “work to stabilize and steer the relations back to the right track”, he said.
At the talks, Qin made clear China’s solemn position on the nation’s core interests and major concerns, such as the Taiwan question, and he put forward clear requirements.
Qin pointed out that the Taiwan question is “at the core of China’s core interests”, and as for China-US relations, it is both the most important major issue and the most prominent risk.
China urges the US to faithfully abide by the one-China principle and the three landmark joint communiques, and implement in a substantial manner its commitment to not support “Taiwan independence”, Qin said.
On June 18, the two sides agreed to continue advancing consultations on the guiding principles of China-US relations. In addition, they agreed to continue advancing consultation of the China-US joint working group to resolve specific issues in China-US relations.
On June 19, Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, met with Blinken.
During the meeting, Wang urged the US to “stop hyping up the ‘China threat’, lift illegal unilateral sanctions against China, stop its suppression of China’s scientific and technological development, and refrain from interfering in China’s internal affairs”.
He urged the US not to apply to China the belief that “a strong nation surely will seek hegemony”, or to use the past trajectories of traditional Western powers to misjudge China.
As the US will host this year’s APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, Wang said it is an important opportunity for the US to rethink and recalibrate its Asia-Pacific policy.
China is ready to work with the US to explore a way for constructive interaction in the Asia-Pacific region, and it hopes that the US will work with China to bring Asia-Pacific cooperation back to the right direction, Wang said.
Su Xiaohui, deputy director of the Department of American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said: “The international community expects a stable China-US relationship. It will also serve China’s interests if the two sides could sit at the table and talk so as to further stabilize their relations.”
“It remains to be seen if Washington will break away from its two-faced approach of saying one thing while doing another,” she added.
