Chinese Foreign Ministry responds to Blinken's upcoming visit to China

(ECNS) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made a comment on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's upcoming travel to China, at a press conference on Friday. The following is the full text:

Media: It was reported that White House Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink had a briefing on Secretary Blinken’s upcoming travel to China on June 14, during which Mr. Campbell said, “From the beginning, our approach has been consistent. We are in competition with China, but we do not seek conflict, confrontation, or a new Cold War. We are for managing the competition responsibly...So we will seek to manage the competition and work together where our interests align”, and Mr. Kritenbrink said that during Secretary Blinken’s visit to China, their primary focus is to have candid, direct, and constructive discussions on three fronts: first, establish communication channels that are open and empowered; second, stand up and speak out for U.S. values and interests, and raise clearly and candidly the U.S.’s concerns on a range of issues; third, explore potential cooperation on transnational challenges when it is in U.S. interest. Mr. Krintenbrink also said, “We’re not going to Beijing with the intent of having some sort of breakthrough or transformation in the way that we deal with one another.” What is your response?

Wang Wenbin: President Xi Jinping has pointed out on multiple occasions that China-U.S. relations should not be a zero-sum game where one side out-competes or thrives at the expense of the other. The two sides should form a correct perception of each other’s domestic and foreign policies and strategic intentions, respect each other, coexist in peace, pursue win-win cooperation, and explore the right way to get along with each other. This not only serves the interests of the two peoples but also meets the common aspiration of the international community.

The U.S. views China as its “primary rival” and “the most consequential geopolitical challenge”. This is a major strategic misjudgement. There is competition between the two countries in areas such as economy and trade, but there should be no vicious zero-sum competition. Still less should there be practices to contain or suppress one another in the name of competition and deprive China of its legitimate right to development. This is not “responsible competition”, but irresponsible bullying. It will only push the two countries towards confrontation and create a divided world. 

Let me stress again that the U.S. needs to give up the illusion of dealing with China “from a position of strength.” China and the U.S. must develop relations on the basis of mutual respect and equality, respect their difference in history, culture, social system and development path and accommodate each other’s core interests and major concerns.

The U.S. keeps emphasizing the need for dialogue and communication and building guardrails and putting a floor under China-U.S. relations. China’s door to dialogue and communication is open. The communication between the two countries has never stopped. Communication needs to address the concerns of both sides. They need to serve an actual purpose and help provide solutions. What is unacceptable is to ask for communication and meanwhile damage the other side’s interests. One can’t say one thing and do another. 

China again urges the U.S. to deliver on President Biden’s positive statements, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and damaging China’s interests, stop containing and suppressing China, and work with China to remove obstacles, create conditions and bring China-U.S. relations gradually to the track of stable growth.