US President Joe Biden (right) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shake hands as they meet at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, Oct 27, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

WASHINGTON – The Chinese foreign minister on Friday said while meeting with the US president that his ongoing visit is aimed at communicating with the US side to follow through on the important common understandings reached by the two heads of state and proceed from the Bali summit towards a San Francisco summit.

The objective is to prevent bilateral ties from further deteriorating and bring the China-US relationship back on track of healthy and steady development at an early date, said Wang Yi. 

On Friday, President Joe Biden met with the Chinese diplomat, who traveled to Washington on Thursday for a three-day visit at the invitation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

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Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, first conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's greetings to Biden.

President Biden expressed his hope that the US is willing to stay in contact with China to jointly address global challenges

The one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques are the most important political foundation for bilateral relations, which must be upheld without interference, said Wang.

Stressing that China heeds the US hope to stabilize and improve relations with China, he said the two sides need to act with a sense of responsibility for the world, history and people, and push for the steady and sound development of China-US relations in line with the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation proposed by Xi.

This is not only in the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples, but also the common aspiration of the international community, he said.

Biden, for his part, extended his greetings to Xi.

He made clear that he attaches importance to US-China relations, expressing hope that the US is willing to stay in contact with China to jointly address global challenges.

US President Joe Biden (first right) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (third right) at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, Oct 27, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

‘Five musts’

Wang Yi held two rounds of talks with the US secretary of state on Thursday and Friday. The two sides agreed to work together toward a meeting between the two heads of state in San Francisco.

Pointing out that the current international situation is undergoing transformation and turbulence, Wang said China-US relations are also at a critical crossroads.

He said China always believes that the common interests of the two countries outweigh their differences and disputes, that their respective success is an opportunity rather than a challenge for each other, and that the way for major countries to get along should be dialogue and cooperation rather than a zero-sum game. Beijing holds that the two countries should bring their relationship back on the track of healthy and steady development at an early date, so as to benefit both countries as well as the world, he added.

The twists and turns in the path of China-US relations this year offer both experience to sum up and lessons to draw, he noted.

Most importantly, Wang said, the two sides should adhere to the following "five musts": must abide by the consensus reached by the two heads of state, must stabilize bilateral relations, must keep communication channels open, must properly manage differences, disputes and frictions, and must promote mutually beneficial cooperation.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (third right) holds a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (second left) in Washington, D.C. They held two rounds of talks on Thursday and Friday. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

To stabilize and further improve bilateral relations, the two sides should have objective views of each other's strategic intentions, correctly treat the competitive factors in the exchanges between the two countries, and define the concept of national security, he said.

The two sides agreed to work together toward a meeting between the two heads of state in San Francisco

Blinken said the US wants a stable and sustainable relationship with China and is willing to enhance communications with the Chinese side, prevent miscalculations, discuss cooperation in areas where cooperation is needed and make good preparations for the next phase of high-level engagements.

In the coming days, the two sides will hold separate consultations on maritime affairs, arms control and nuclear nonproliferation, and diplomatic policies. The two countries will also hold a meeting to coordinate issues surrounding policies toward people with disabilities, eyeing the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for the benefit of the disabled.

The two sides also agreed to increase more direct passenger flights between the two countries.

The two diplomats also exchanged views on international and regional issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Wang said what's of utmost urgency right now is to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe on a larger scale, and the fundamental way out of the conflict is the two-state solution. Major countries, the foreign minister added, should remain calm, be objective, and uphold justice, while the United Nations should play its due role.

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China is willing to work with all parties to activate a mechanism for promoting peace, build wider international consensus on implementing the two-state solution and discuss the provision of more effective international guarantees, he said.

Blinken said that maintaining durable peace and stability in the Middle East is in the interests of all parties, and that the US side shares the view that there is a need to return to the implementation of the two-state solution.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, among others.  

Strategic communication

The Chinese foreign minister also met US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Friday.

The two sides held substantial and constructive strategic communication on China-US relations, high-level bilateral exchanges as well as international and regional issues of common concern, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

They agreed to make joint efforts for a meeting between the two heads of state in San Francisco.

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"Taiwan independence" poses the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and constitutes the biggest challenge to China-US relations, Wang said, adding that "Taiwan independence" must be firmly opposed, and the opposition must be translated into concrete actions.

He also expounded on China's solemn position on the South China Sea issue.

The two sides agreed to maintain strategic communication.