Chinese FM urges advancement of new type of China-US relations

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) addresses the press in Washington D.C. , the United States, on Oct. 1, 2014. Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs and all countries should respect China's sovereignty, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday expressed the hope that China and the United States would enhance mutual trust, expand cooperation and avoid misjudgment.

Wang met with U.S. President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday.

At a meeting with Wang, Obama said he was looking forward to visiting China in November and his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

ENHANCEMENT OF MUTUAL TRUST

Wang said China welcomes Obama's visit and is ready to work with the United States to deepen strategic mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, and get real results from efforts to develop a new type of major-country relationship between the two countries.

When meeting with former US National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon on Tuesday, Wang said that, for the sake of genuinely implementing the consensus on building a new type of major-country relationship, China and the United States first need to create mutual trust, dispel mutual suspicion and prevent strategic miscalculation.

The Chinese top diplomat also expressed this viewpoint during his meeting with Hagel, saying that China and the United States should build strategic mutual trust, including mutual trust between their military forces, and reduce mistrust.

EXPANSION OF COOPERATION

Meeting with Kerry, Wang said that the common interests between China and the United States far outweigh their differences and that there are more fields where the two countries could and should cooperate with each other.

"This meets our common interests and the interests of the international community. It is also in line with the trend of human progress," the Chinese minister said.

He suggested the two countries accelerate the negotiation on a bilateral investment treaty and make more arrangements for visa reciprocity so as to facilitate two-way investment and personnel exchanges.

In addition, Wang noted that China is forging ahead an anti-corruption campaign and stands ready to enhance cooperation with the US side in criminal manhunt and illicit-money recovery.

China and the United States, said Wang, should also enhance communication and cooperation on anti-terrorism, the fight against climate change and the Ebola virus.

Kerry urged the two countries to enhance cooperation in various fields and jointly face up to challenges brought by a range of international and regional issues such as climate change, terrorism, the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the nuclear issue of Iran, among others.

MANAGEMENT OF DIFFERENCES

China agrees with the US proposal that China and the United States should work together to maximize cooperation and minimize differences, Wang said at the White House when meeting with Obama.

At the Pentagon, Wang told Hagel that China respects the US traditional influence and realistic interests in the Asia-Pacific region and supports its constructive role in Asia-Pacific affairs, while the United States should respect China's status and influence in the region, its need for reasonable development space and its legitimate rights.

China hopes the United States will properly handle those issues that hinder the development of China-US ties, such as its sales of weapons to China's Taiwan, and its warships and military aircraft's approaches to China for surveillance, he said.

Hagel said that the United States and China are partners, not rivals, and there are far more common interests than differences between the two countries.

During his meetings with US leaders at the White House and the State Department, Wang also expounded on the Chinese government's principled position on Hong Kong's current situation, saying Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs and all countries should respect China's sovereignty.