Stay on the right track and keep pace with the times to ensure the right direction for China-US relations

BEIJING According to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the ChinaUS relations, one of the most consequential bilateral relationships in the world, is faced with the most severe challenge since the establishment of diplomatic ties. “Some in the US with ideological biases are resorting to all possible means to portray China as an adversary, and even an enemy. They seek relentlessly to frustrate and contain China’s development, and to impede interactions between China and the US.”

Wang Yi asks himself if the giant ship of ChinaUS relations will be able to stay on the right course in the future after more than four decades of voyage. “The question matters not only to the interests of the Chinese and American peoples, but also to the future of the world and humanity.”

At the ChinaUS Think Tanks Media Forum Beijing yesterday, Wang suggested to set things right and get ChinaUS relations back on track toward longterm, sound and steady development. He offers three observations.

“First, China and the US should not seek to remodel each other. Instead, they must work together to find ways to peaceful coexistence of different systems and civilizations. Every country takes its development path on the basis of its cultural and historic traditions. China’s path of socialism with Chinese characteristics suits its own national conditions, and it is the choice of the Chinese people. Facts have proved that this has been the way out of poverty and backwardness for the 1.4 billion Chinese people, and that it has enabled the Chinese nation to make important contribution again to the progress of mankind.

Secondly, China’s US policy remains unchanged. We are still willing to grow China

US relations with goodwill and sincerity. Some friends in the US might have become suspicious or even wary of a growing China. I’d like to stress here again that China never intends to challenge or replace the US, or have full confrontation with the US. What we care most about is to improve the livelihood of our people. What we deem as the most important is to realize national renewal of the Chinese nation. And what we hope for most is to maintain peace and stability of the world.

Thirdly, it is important to have a correct view of the historical experience of ChinaUS relations, and stay the course of dialogue and cooperation. Some in the US have claimed that the engagement policy over the past decades has been a failure, and that the US has been ripped off in its cooperation with China. That is a comment that disrespects history and conflicts with the fact. China and the

US were allies who fought side by side during WWII. In the 1970s, the two sides reopened the door toward establishing diplomatic ties on the basis of respecting the different systems of each other. That our dialogue and cooperation have come a long way is attributable to the political wisdom and strenuous efforts by one generation after another. It reveals the inherent law of ChinaUS relations, and also represents the trend of the times.

Wang stated that The ChinaUS relationship is one of the world’s most important bilateral relations. “There needs to be more positive messages and energy from this relationship. I hope the US will develop more objective and coolheaded perceptions about China, and a more rational and pragmatic China policy. This is in the fundamental interests of the Chinese and American peoples. It is also what the world expects from the two countries.”