Wang Yi tells it like it is!

Like him, or hate him, Wang Yi has earned his spot in the pantheon of 21st century ace foreign ministers, among whom we count Russia’s Sergey Lavrov and South Africa’s Naledi Pandor.

I had the pleasure to watch Wang Yi in action this past week during China’s political season rightly named, the ‘Two Sessions’ This refers to the meetings of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which is the advisory organ of China’s political system, and the National People’s Congress (NPC) – basically the country’s legislature, or law making body. Now during the week-long meetings of the second session of the 14th CPPCC and NPC held at the Great Hall of the People on the western side of the Tiananmen Square, Ministers, Heads of Departments, and Members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee simultaneously addressed Members of the Fourth Estate at the Press Conference Hall of the Media Centre. It was here on Thursday 7th March that I witnessed Wang Yi at his vintage – carefully navigating the minefield and sidestepping the booby traps laid on his path as he responded to a slew of questions from local and foreign media covering the Two Sessions. Not only are Wang Yi’s responses typically brazen- they are, like with any other Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee – calculated to instruct and edify the various facets and aspects of Comrade Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era.

A few answers on topical issues that he reacted to, may provide the full essence and import of this principle. When a reporter from Bloomberg asked him about the US continuing to increase its trade and technological restrictions on China in-spite of Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s last year’s pact to jointly manage differences and promote mutually beneficial cooperation, Wang Yi propounded on the guiding principles underpinning China-US relations. No matter how the international landscape evolves, China always keeps its U.S. policy stable and consistent, and always handles the relationship with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world, he asserted. “Our position is the three principles proposed by President Xi Jinping—mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation. They are a statement of the experiences and lessons of the 50-plus years of China-U.S. relations, and represent the right way for interactions between major countries. “They should be observed and acted upon by both sides. Specifically, mutual respect is the precondition, because interaction sustains only when differences in social and political systems are respected and acknowledged.

“Peaceful coexistence is the baseline, because conflict and confrontation between two major countries like China and the U.S. have unimaginable consequences. “Win-win cooperation is the goal, because when working together, China and the U.S. can do great things conducive to the two countries and the world”. Now, this is the philosophical and ideological grounding of the CPC and by extension the People’s Republic of China, and it’s reflected in the conduct of its peoples – the humility and amity with which they treat one another, and no less their fellow mankind. But, don’t be deceived. Wang Yi can also be brutally honest! To the same reporter he made it clear that China is aware that the U.S. has been devising various tactics to suppress China and “kept lengthening its unilateral sanctions list” to the extent that it has reached “bewildering levels of unfathomable absurdity”. But he was not done yet, he had questions for the U.S. as well. “If the U.S. says one thing and does another, where is its credibility as a major country? If it gets jittery whenever it hears the word “China,” where is its confidence as a major country? “If it only wants itself to prosper but denies other countries’ legitimate development, where is international fairness? If it persistently monopolises the high end of the value chain and keeps China at the low end, where is fairness in competition”? And to all these questions, Wang Yi maintains that the challenge for the U.S. comes from itself, not from China. “If the U.S. is obsessed with suppressing China, it will eventually harm itself,”, he warned. But in the true spirit of amity we intimated earlier, Wang Yi ended with a gentle prodding. “We urge the U.S. to be clear-eyed about the trend of the times, view China’s development objectively and rationally, engage in exchanges with China proactively and pragmatically, and act to fulfill its commitments”.

The same clarity of thought and careful examination of conditions and circumstances was apparent in response to questions on ChinaEuropean Union (EU) relations; prospects of peace talks in the Ukraine-Russia war; the Israel genocide against Gaza and the people of Palestine, and was scathing on connivers and supporters of ‘separatists’ in response to a question on the rising tensions across the Taiwan Straits. To the latter, he exclaimed: “Our bottom line is also quite clear—we will never allow Taiwan to be separated from the motherland. Whoever engage in “Taiwan independence” on the island will be held accountable by history. “Whoever in the world connive at and support “Taiwan independence” will get burned for playing with fire and taste the bitter fruit of their own doing. “People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a close kinship, and our roots as one nation cannot be severed. All people of Chinese descent should uphold the overall interests of the Chinese nation, jointly oppose “Taiwan independence,” and support peaceful reunification”. At the end of it all, Wang Yi explained China’s view of multi-polarity and economic globalization as the prevailing trends in the advancement of human society. An equal multipolar world means equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules for every nation. Certain or a few powers should not monopolise international affairs. “Countries should not be categorised according to their strength. Those with the bigger fist should not have the final say. And it is definitely unacceptable that certain countries must be at the table while some others can only be on the menu. “We must ensure that all countries, regardless of their size and strength, are able to take part in decisionmaking, enjoy their rights, and play their role as equals in the process toward a multipolar world. “An orderly multipolar world means all should observe the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, and uphold the universally recognised basic norms governing international relations”