Despite sea row, Xi Jinping says ties with Washington are stable
BEIJING—China’s relations with the United States remain stable, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday, as he sought to defuse tension over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea that has pitted Washington against Beijing.
“I look forward to continuing to develop this relationship with (US) President (Barack) Obama and to bring China-US relations to a new height along a track of a new model of major country relationship,” Xi told US Secretary of State John Kerry at the end of the latter’s trip to China.
Kerry’s trip has been dominated by deepening security concerns about Beijing’s maritime ambitions in the South China Sea.
China’s rapid reclamation effort around seven reefs in the Spratly archipelago of the
South China Sea has alarmed claimants such as the Philippines and Vietnam.
On Saturday, Kerry urged China to take action to reduce tension in the South China Sea. His call was rebuffed by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who said Beijing’s determination to protect its interests in the area was “as hard as a rock.”
Kerry’s trip is intended to prepare for the annual US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue next month in Washington and Xi’s expected visit to Washington in September, a trip that Xi said he looked forward to.
Equal global player
Xi has repeatedly told Obama of his desire for a “new model of major country relationship,” in which China would be viewed as an equal global player.
But the model also outlines a respect for “each other’s sovereign and territorial integrity as well as political system and development path.”
“In my view, the China-US relationship has remained stable,” Xi told Kerry at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People at a session open to reporters.
He told Kerry that China and the United States should handle disputes in a way that would not damage bilateral ties.
“The two sides,” he said, “should manage, control and handle disputes in an appropriate way so that the general direction of the bilateral relationship will not be affected.”
“The broad Pacific Ocean is vast enough to embrace both China and the United States,” Xi said.
China claims about 90 percent of the 3.5-million-squarekilometer South China Sea. The Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam also claim large parts of the waterway through which $5 trillion in global trade passes every year.
Land reclamation
Recent satellite images have shown that since March 2014, China has conducted reclamation work at seven sites in the Spratlys and is constructing a military-sized airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef and possibly a second on another reef.
The Philippines, a US treaty ally, has called for urgent action.
Kerry said the United States had stated its concerns about the pace and scope of China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea.
The United States and most members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) want a halt to the reclamation, which they suspect is aimed at building islands and other land features over which China can claim sovereignty.
On Saturday, China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, urged Kerry to “properly control our differences and sensitive issues” as well as “view our strategic intentions objectively and rationally,” according to a report by state-run China News Service.
“I hope the United States can do more for peace and stability in the region,” Yang, who holds the title of state councilor, was quoted as telling Kerry, referring to the South China Sea.
China has expressed its concern about a possible US plan to send military aircraft and ships to assert freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
‘Dangerous behavior’
China rejects US involvement in the dispute and has blamed the United States for stoking tension by encouraging countries to engage in “dangerous behavior.”
On Saturday, after a private meeting with Kerry, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang showed no sign of backing down despite Kerry urging China to take action to reduce tension in the South China Sea.
“With regard to construction on the Nansha Islands and reefs, this is fully within the scope of China’s sovereignty,” Wang told reporters, using the Chinese name for the Spratly Islands.
“I would like to reaffirm that China’s determination to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity is as hard as a rock,” he said. “It is the people’s demand of the government and our legitimate right.”
The United States does not take a position on the rival territorial claims in the South China Sea, but says international law does not allow for sovereignty to be “manufactured” by building up underwater reefs.
‘Smart diplomacy’
After urging Wang to take action to reduce tension, Kerry said he believed he and the Chinese foreign minister agreed the region needed “smart diplomacy” in order to conclude a code of conduct between Asean and China, “and not outposts and military strips”—an apparent reference to airstrips the United States believes China is building on reclaimed land in the Spratlys.
Kerry said the United States and China had “a lot to accomplish together … as two of the world’s major powers and largest economies” and that millions of people around the world depended on them to ensure “high standards of behavior and aspiration.”
Wang said that while both countries had differences on the South China Sea, they were committed to freedom of navigation and peace and stability in the area and added that China hoped to continue a dialogue to improve understanding on the issue.
“It has always been our view that we need to find appropriate solutions to the issues we have through communications and negotiations that we have among the parties directly concerned with peaceful and diplomatic means on the basis of respecting historical facts and international norms. This position will remain unchanged in the future,” Wang said.
He said the differences between China and the United States could be managed “as long as we can avoid misunderstanding and, even more importantly, avoid miscalculation.”
The South China Sea dispute is the largest source of friction between the United States and China, which have sparred over everything from trade and human rights to exchanges of accusations of hacking.
Despite this, the two countries cooperate in many areas such as climate change, North Korea and Iran.