China’s top diplomat said Friday cooperation between his country and the United States is no longer a choice but an imperative and called for a healthy development of China U.S. relations.
Speaking at an event in Beijing commemorating 45 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said under current global circumstances, the U.S. and China have more common interests than ever and the need for cooperation is enhanced.
“It can be said that China-United States cooperation is no longer a dispensable choice for the two countries or even for the world, but a mandatory question that must be seriously addressed,” Wang said.
He called for the two sides to make full use of all mechanisms that have been restored between them to “build bridges of communication between them.” Wang called for cooperation in the areas of diplomacy, economy, finance, commerce and agriculture.
The foreign minister’s conciliatory words come after a year in which tensions between the two superpowers intensified. Early in 2023, the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon floating through U.S. airspace delayed a U.S. diplomatic visit to the country by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The ballon was eventually shot down.
China’s relationship with Russia, its ongoing threats against Taiwan, territorial disputes in the South China Sea and fair-trade issues have also hampered Beijing’s ties with Washington.
China- U.S. relations thawed somewhat toward the end of 2023, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden holding a meeting in San Francisco on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Biden administration officials held visits and meetings with their Chinese counterparts soon after.
Xi and Biden exchanged New Year’s greetings early this week, with both leaders noting the anniversary of diplomatic ties.
Some information in this story came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.