State Councilor and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a scintillating news conference on Friday, on the sidelines of the third session of the 14th National People’s Congress in Beijing. It was a textbook lesson on tact and diplomacy, and Wang stood out as the epitome of a true diplomat.

In an auditorium packed to capacity with reporters, photographers, and cameramen, he faced the press head-on, answering questions about United States-European Union-Russian relations, the Taiwan situation, and the South China Sea. Without emotion or theatrics, he firmly stated Beijing’s stance on foreign policy.

Even in his short opening remarks, he displayed full transparency and firm frankness. At the end of the conference, known in media circles as a “presser”, there was no doubt where China stood on any aspect of its foreign policy. This was dubbed by some as Wang’s annual meet-the-press session.

He said China was a firm supporter of multilateralism, and in an ever-changing world, certainty was becoming uncertain. A good example is the United States, where President Donald Trump has undone agreements made by previous presidents. Now even the country’s employment situation remains uncertain. The US has entered a state of flux, and the future of its citizens is uncertain.

Wang told the press that Chinese diplomacy would stand firm on the right side of history and the side of human progress. “We will provide certainty to this uncertain world,” he added.

In a frank response to questions on China-US relations, Wang said, “No country should fantasize that it can suppress China and maintain good relations with China at the same time. Such a two-faced approach is not good for stabilizing bilateral relations or building mutual trust.”

Trump slapped hefty sanctions of 20 percent on China under the pretext of its allowing the drug fentanyl to be smuggled into the US, a claim strongly denied by China. Wang reiterated that fentanyl is a US domestic problem that must be confronted and resolved by the US itself and that China had helped the US in various ways in tackling the problem.

He added that China had put in place “the toughest and most comprehensive narcotics policy in today’s world.

“The US should not return good with evil or even impose arbitrary tariffs. No responsible major country should do that.”

On the South China Sea saga, an agreement is in sight between China and the ASEAN countries. In this regard, Wang had no shortage of strong words.

The frictions between the Philippines and China were “shadow play”, a screenplay written by external forces, said Wang, referring, of course, to the US.

“Asia is not an arena for big power rivalry,” he said, accusing the US of doing nothing for countries in the region but “stirring up troubles and creating disputes”.

“(The US) has proved to be more of a disruptive than a constructive contributor.”

There has been no change in the central government’s position regarding Taiwan. “It was not in the past, and it will never be in the future,” Wang said of Taiwan. He added that any effort by Taipei to seek independence was doomed to backfire and that using Taiwan to contain China would be futile.

He sent a message to Japan: “Stop the propaganda that a Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency. The truth is, to provoke trouble in the name of Taiwan is to invite trouble to Japan.”

News conferences normally last an hour, but in this case, it lasted 90 minutes, during which time reporters asked some 23 questions, which resulted in most major media outlets headlining Wang’s remarks on the US.

US-based Time magazine said, “China Slams US tariffs, Says Ready For ‘War’.”

The Associated Press said, “China’s foreign minister criticizes US tariffs and accuses the country of ‘meeting good with evil’.”

Singapore’s Straits Times and China’s CGTN also featured Wang’s news conference. Financial network Bloomberg played it straight with “China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at NPC meeting.”

At the same time, the US State Department-sponsored Radio Free Asia reported in Taipei that “China warns the US against containment as Trump’s second term reshapes relations.” In fact, the news conference received worldwide positive coverage as it set the pace of China’s position in a geopolitical arena.

The “presser” showcased to the world how diplomacy is conducted in China. Wang took measured steps on the road to world peace, holding his head high as the doyen of the diplomatic corps. As such, he has a key peace-keeping position in world conflicts such as those taking place in Ukraine and Israel.

The author is a former chief information officer, a PR and media consultant and veteran journalist.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.