China’s new FM stresses US ties

Qin outlines hopes for key relationship, says he will encourage dialogue, mutual understanding

China’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Qin Gang pledged on Jan 3 to “continue to care about and support the growth of China-US relations” as he left his post as Beijing’s top envoy in Washington.

Meanwhile, scholars hailed the latest phone talk between the new foreign minister and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and they urged Washington to grab fresh opportunities to further repair relations and trust with Beijing in the new year.

While still in the US, Qin had a phone conversation with Blinken on Jan 1 and bid farewell in his capacity as both foreign minister and ambassador, according to a readout of China’s Foreign Ministry on Jan 2.

Qin, 56, was named foreign minister on Dec 30 after he served as China’s ambassador to the United States for about 17 months.

“I appreciate several candid, indepth and constructive meetings with (Blinken) during my tenure. I look forward to continuing close working relations with him for a better ChinaUS relationship,” Qin wrote in a tweet after the phone call.

Blinken said in a tweet that they had discussed US-China relations and “maintaining open lines of communication”.

The two also exchanged New Year’s greetings.

“I came to assume office in 2021 at a time of severe challenges for ChinaUS relations,” Qin said in a post on Jan 3 on his official Twitter page, as he bade farewell to the people of the US. “I want to pay sincere thanks to the people of the United States for the strong support and assistance given to me and the Chinese embassy during this period.”

Qin said that during his tenure as ambassador, he worked to implement the common understandings of the presidents of both nations, served as a bridge and bond of communication between the two countries, and explored the right way for China and the US to get along in the new era.

He recalled that he visited 22 states in over 500 days during his stay in the US. “I went to government agencies, Congress, think tanks, enterprises, factories, ports, farms, schools and sports fields, and made many friends across the US. I have been deeply impressed by so many hardworking, friendly and talented American people that I met,” he tweeted.

Speaking on the way forward, he wrote, “What’s past is prologue. Going forward, I will continue to care about and support the growth of China-US relations, encourage dialogue, mutual understanding and affinity between the two peoples.”

On Jan 2, Qin issued two separate letters to bid farewell to overseas Chinese and Chinese students studying in the US. He noted that the total population of overseas Chinese in the US had reached more than 5 million, and they “have become an important part of the pluralistic society in the US”.

In his letter addressed to Chinese students, Qin voiced his hope that they will make more friends, boost exchanges, act as grassroots envoys of China-US friendship and promote mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Scholars said the top priority in 2023 for the world’s two largest economies is to avoid further deterioration of their relations and manage risks brought by sensitive issues such as the Taiwan question.

The year 2023 “should be a window period for cooperation between the two countries and the world, and this opportunity cannot be missed”, said Chen Fengying, a senior economist and former director of the Institute of World Economic Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

The Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, adopted a decision on Dec 30 to remove Wang Yi from the post of foreign minister and appoint Qin to the position. Wang has been appointed director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, had served as foreign minister since 2013. He is also a State Councilor.

Qin becomes the third Chinese ambassador to the US to lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, following Li Zhaoxing and Yang Jiechi, who assumed the ambassadorial post in Washington in 1998 and 2001, respectively.

In his first comments as foreign minister, Qin said China’s diplomacy is committed to peace, development, cooperation and delivering mutual benefits, with the engagement based on mutual respect.

In solving challenges common to all of mankind, China’s diplomacy will offer “Chinese wisdom, Chinese initiatives, and Chinese strength”, Qin said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website.

“What’s past is prologue. Going forward, I will continue to care about and support the growth of China-US relations, encourage dialogue, mutual understanding and affinity between the two peoples.”

QIN GANG

Foreign Minister