Yang Tao, Director-General of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs at China’s Foreign Ministry, briefed the media on Friday about U.S. Secretary of State Blinken's visit to China.
At the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Blinken visited China from April 24 to 26.
Blinken's visit is part of ongoing efforts to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state of China and the U.S. at their San Francisco meeting to maintain dialogue, manage differences, promote cooperation, and strengthen coordination on international affairs.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Blinken at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday afternoon.
Xi pointed out that China and the U.S. should be partners rather than rivals; help each other succeed rather than hurt each other; seek common ground and reserve differences rather than engage in vicious competition; and honor words with actions rather than say one thing but do another.
Noting that this year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S., Xi said these four "shoulds" are important lessons for the anniversary.
Xi said he proposed mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as the three overarching principles for the relationship, which are lessons learned from the past as well as a guide for the future.
Xi emphasized that the world is facing drastic changes unseen in a century, the world is facing challenging events, human society is closer than ever in its blessings and misfortunes, countries are intertwined with each other, and we should build the greatest consensus to achieve win-win results for all, which is the basic starting point for China to view the world and China-U.S. relations.
Xi said China and the U.S. should set an example in this regard, undertake responsibilities for world peace, create opportunities for the development of all countries, provide the world with public goods, and play a positive role in promoting global unity.
Xi said that in the past few months, teams from both sides have made some positive progress in implementing the San Francisco vision reached by the two heads of state, but there are still many problems that need to be solved and there is room for further effort. Putting peace first, stability first, and trust first are China's considerations for the stable development of the China-U.S. relations this year.
China is willing to cooperate, but cooperation should be a two-way street, China is not afraid of competition, but competition should be about progressing together instead of playing a zero-sum game, Xi said.
China is committed to non-alliance, and the U.S. should not create small bloc. While each side can have its friends and partners, it should not target, oppose or harm the other, he added.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Blinken in Beijing on Friday, where the two sides had extensive and in-depth exchanges regarding China-U.S. relations and international and regional issues, and expressed positions on strategic cognition, Taiwan region, economy, trade, science and technology, the South China Sea, the U.S. "Indo-Pacific Strategy", and other major issues involving China's core concerns.
Blinken also met with State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong in Beijing on Friday to discuss China-U.S. drug control and law enforcement, and with secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China Chen Jining in Shanghai on Thursday to discuss exchanges and cooperation between Shanghai and the U.S.
The relevant meetings and talks were candid, substantive and constructive, according to Yang.
Last November, President Xi and President Biden had a successful meeting in San Francisco and charted the "San Francisco vision" for a stable, sound and sustainable bilateral relationship. It is the job for both sides to deliver on that vision, according to Yang.
President Biden has reiterated that the U.S. does not seek a new Cold War, does not seek to change China's system, does not seek to strengthen alliances against China, does not support "Taiwan independence," and has no intention of conflict with China; the U.S. does not seek to contain China's development, nor does it seek "decoupling" from China and has no intention of stopping China's scientific and technological progress, agreeing that a developing and successful China is a good thing for the world, according to Yang.
While the U.S. reiterated these positions, China still maintains that the U.S. should be true to its words and resolute in its actions, and cannot say one thing and do another, according to Yang.
The strategic cognitive issue of whether China and the U.S. are partners or rivals is the fundamental issue in China-U.S. relations, and it is also an issue that both sides must discuss every time, according to Yang.
"China is an oriental civilization with a history of 5,000 years, a major country with a population of more than 1.4 billion people moving toward modernization, and a socialist country that adheres to the path of peaceful development. The logic of great power struggle for hegemony and the Cold War zero-sum mentality are neither in China's DNA nor China's behavior. China is happy to see a confident, open, prosperous and developing United States, and hopes that the U.S. can also view China's development positively. Only when the 'first button' is buttoned can China-U.S. relations truly stabilize, get better, and move forward. If the U.S. always regards China as its main rival, China-U.S. relations will only be troubled and full of problems," said Yang.
Yang said that the Taiwan question is the number one red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations, and the premise for China and the U.S. to discuss the Taiwan question is that Taiwan belongs to China and the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affairs, and China firmly opposes a series of wrong words and deeds by the U.S. on the Taiwan question.
Yang said that no one will deprive the Chinese people of their right to development, but the U.S. has employed all kinds of measures to hit China on trade, economy and technology, which is not fair competition, but steps to contain and block China, and it is not de-risking but risk-building.
China urged the U.S. to stop hyping up the false narrative of "Chinese overcapacity", lift illegal sanctions on Chinese businesses and halt the Section 301 tariffs which are against WTO rules, Yang said.
The Asia-Pacific should not become a wrestling ground for major countries, China hopes the U.S. will make the right choice, work with China, engage in sound interactions in the Asia-Pacific, stop forming exclusive groupings, stop coercing regional countries to take sides, stop deploying ground-based medium-range missiles, stop harming China's strategic security interests, and stop undermining hard-won peace and stability in the region, according to Yang.
According to Yang, the two sides reached a five-point consensus based on a comprehensive exchange of views during Blinken's visit:
First, both sides agreed to continue to work hard to stabilize and develop China-U.S. relations in accordance with the guidance of the two heads of state. The two sides affirmed the positive progress made in dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in various fields since the meeting in San Francisco, and agreed to speed up the implementation of the important consensus reached by the two heads of state in the city.
Second, both sides agreed to maintain high-level exchanges and contacts at all levels. They will continue to allow the restored and newly established consultation mechanisms to play their roles in the fields of diplomacy, economy, finance and commerce, continue to carry out exchanges between the two militaries, and further promote China-U.S. cooperation on drug control, climate change and artificial intelligence.
Third, the two sides announced that they would hold the first meeting of the China-U.S. intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence, continue to advance consultations on the principles guiding China-U.S. relations, hold a new round of China-U.S. consultations on Asia-Pacific affairs and China-U.S. maritime affairs, and continue consular consultations. The anti-drug working group of the two countries will hold a senior officials' meeting. The United States welcomes China's special envoy for climate change Liu Zhenmin to visit the United States.
Fourth, the two sides will take measures to expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, welcome students from each other's countries and work together for the success of the 14th China-U.S. Tourism Leadership Summit to be held in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, in May.
Fifth, the two sides will maintain consultations on international and regional hotspot issues, and strengthen communication between the special envoys of the two sides.
Regarding the so-called "Chinese overcapacity" issue, Yang said that China's advantages in fields including new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaic products are not the product of Chinese government subsidies, but the result of global market demand, technological innovation, and full competition.
China's high-quality new energy products have made important contributions to countries accelerating green transformation, coping with climate change, and alleviating inflationary pressure, the so-called "overcapacity" is not a conclusion based on market definition, but a man-made false narrative, and an another example of the U.S. engaging in protectionism and suppressing China's development, said Yang.
Regarding the South China Sea issue, Yang said that China has indisputable sovereignty over Nansha Qundao and the adjacent waters, including Ren'ai Jiao. This was developed and established throughout the long course of history and is consistent with international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. No country should attempt to challenge China's legitimate rights and interests with illegal rulings, said Yang.
The reasons for the current situation at Ren'ai Jiao are crystal clear: the Philippines first broke its promise and refused to tow away the illegally beached warships for 25 years. Then it repeatedly violated the gentleman's agreement and internal understanding it reached with China and acted wantonly, which is an infringement and provocation attempting to conduct large-scale repairs and reinforcements in order to achieve permanent occupation of Ren'ai Jiao, and severely violated Article 5 of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea reached by China and ASEAN countries, said Yang.
The recent escalation of tensions in the South China Sea is inseparable from the intervention of the United States, as it has frequently threatened the regional stability via the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, which seriously violates the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, said Yang.
According to Yang, if the United States wants to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, it should stop fanning the flames and provoking confrontation, and China is unswervingly determined to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Regarding affairs relating to Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Xizang, and human rights, Yang said the U.S. should respect China's sovereignty and the rule of law in Hong Kong, and refrain from smearing and slandering China; issues related to Xinjiang and Xizang are China's internal affairs, and the U.S. should not point fingers, let alone interfere indiscriminately under the pretext of human rights.
Regard the Ukraine crisis, Yang said that China did not create the crisis, nor is it a party to the crisis, yet China neither stood idle nor took advantage of the crisis, and China's position to the crisis is open and frank, which can be summed up as promoting talks for peace and political settlement.
China has always acted in accordance with principles on the international stage and assumed all due responsibilities, but will not take the blame, let alone pay for the actions of others. The U.S. side should stop smearing China and exerting pressure, and stop indiscriminately imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies, said Yang.
Foreign Ministry senior official briefs media on Blinken's visit to China
