Relations between China and the United States: A senior Chinese official named Wang Yi urged big countries to “lead by example” when confronted with a number of issues.
Wang Yi, a top Chinese diplomat, made his first public comments since his appointment as head of the ruling Communist Party’s foreign affairs office on Sunday. He stated that China and the United States must pursue dialogue rather than confrontation and avoid the mistakes made during the Cold War.
On Friday, Wang was replaced as China’s foreign minister by Qin Gang, who was a former ambassador to the United States. However, it was widely expected that Wang would continue to play a prominent role in China’s foreign policy following his promotion in October to the Communist Party’s Politburo, which is the highest decision-making body in the country. Qin Gang is a former ambassador to the United States.
Wang called on major nations to “create an example” in the face of many obstacles in an essay that was published in the official Party journal, Seeking Truth. He cited China’s strengthened cooperation with Russia over the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games as an example.
He wrote, “Over the last year, we have tirelessly investigated the correct approach for the two main countries of China and the United States to get along with each other.” This was in reference to their relationship with each other.
“The two nations should build a way of getting along with one another that is based on mutual respect, peaceful cohabitation, and win-win cooperation,” he said, adding that this would put China-U.S. relations back on the path that leads to health and stability.
During Wang’s tenure as foreign minister, there was a significant escalation in the level of friction that existed between Beijing and Washington on a wide variety of issues, including trade and Taiwan.
In the essay he published on Sunday, he stated that Taiwan continued to be at the “heart of China’s basic interests” and that it is the “basis” on which China’s political relationship with the United States is constructed.