Beijing,Dec 8–China and the United States should work together to seek a resumption of dialogue, put bilateral ties back on track and rebuild mutual trust in the next phase, and Beijing expects and believes that Washington’s China policy will regain objectivity and rationality sooner or later, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
Wang made the remark in a videoconference on Monday with board members of the U.S.-China Business Council, which includes executives of some leading U.S. businesses such as General Motors, FedEx, Visa and Qualcomm.
The top priority for both sides is to rule out various disturbances and resistance and to achieve a smooth transition for China-U.S. ties, Wang said when noting the serious difficulties clouding the relations in recent years.
The bilateral relationship is at a critical historical juncture, Wang said, and he mentioned President Xi Jinping’s recent congratulatory message to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, which highlighted the significance of promoting the healthy and stable growth of ties.
The root problem of the relations’ serious situation is that some people in the U.S. cannot break from an outdated Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, meaning they view China’s development and China-U.S. relations as part of a zero-sum game, he said.
Such people regard China as a rival or even an enemy, and they attack the system and path chosen by the Chinese people, attempt to contain China in every way, and even agitate for “decoupling” and a “new cold war”, which is a mistake in terms of history, direction and strategy, Wang added.
China has always adhered to peaceful development, he said. It is determined to embark on a path of revitalization that features win-win cooperation with other countries, and this is why it expects and believes that U.S. policy toward China will shift back to objectivity and rationality sooner or later, he added.
Wang said the door for dialogue is always open. Beijing and Washington should begin to have talks at all levels, with the ability to put any issue on the table, whether it be a strategic, an overall or a long-term one, or a need to discuss a specific issue, so as to seek breakthroughs and solutions and build trust, Wang said.
In view of possible bilateral cooperation in the next stage, Wang named three promising areas: the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recovery and climate change.
China is ready to further its support for the fight against the virus in the U.S. within its capabilities, and the two sides can strengthen economic and trade cooperation, restart macroeconomic policy dialogue and coordination, consider resuming negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty, jointly keep the global industrial and supply chains afloat and contribute to the economic recovery of the two countries and the world, Wang said.
In response to allegations that China takes advantage of the U.S. in trade and economic areas, Wang pointed to the fact that there are more than 70,000 U.S. enterprises investing in China, 97 percent of which are profitable.
Most of these enterprises are more profitable in China than their branches outside China, he added.
Economic cooperation has created about 2.6 million jobs for the U.S., he added.
Wang urged the two countries to ensure mutual respect in three areas. They should respect each other’s historical and cultural heritage, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, and respect the system and path adopted by their peoples.
Both countries should seek and expand consensus through proactive communication, and problems that cannot be solved in a short time should be controlled first in a constructive manner to avoid escalation and negative impacts on overall relations, Wang said.
