Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday (Jan 9) that the ties between the United States and China “stabilised” last year as he spoke about the country’s diplomatic work in 2023.
Wang also delivered a keynote speech at a symposium on Tuesday, saying that China will continue to strive to build a community with a shared future.
His speech comes amid the two powers – the US and China – continue to seek cordial relations in 2024.
Both nations have clashed in recent years on topics ranging from technology and trade to human rights, as well as tensions over Taiwan and conflicting claims in the South China Sea.
Wang’s remarks came at a symposium on the international situation and China’s foreign relations in 2023 in Beijing. He admitted that ties had “encountered serious difficulties at the beginning of (last) year” while speaking at Beijing’s opulent Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
He said Beijing “expressed its solemn position, demanding that the United States change its misunderstanding of China and return to a rational and pragmatic China policy”.
“After hard work, the two sides have restructured communication and dialogue, and bilateral relations have stopped falling and stabilised,” Wang added.
Wang is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee.
He said that Beijing would continue to “explore the correct way to get along with the US” and added that Chinese “wisdom” could help solve conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
US-China tensions eased?
US President Joe Biden met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November to ease some of the worst tensions in decades. Both sides described the talks as a qualified success.
Meanwhile, elections are due this week in Taiwan, which has been a key flashpoint between the US and China.
Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has even said that it will seize it by force if needed.
Meanwhile, the US has backed Taiwan’s security and has warned China against acting aggressively towards the self-ruled island democracy.
But Wang stressed that Biden had pledged to Xi that the US “does not support Taiwan independence” during their meeting last year.
(With inputs from agencies)
