U.S. Secretary of States John Kerry (R) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Washington D.C., the United States, Feb. 23, 2016. (Photo: Xinhua/Yin Bogu)
Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday held a meeting with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry in Washington on a wide range of topics, including tensions on the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea issue.
It was the third meeting in a month between the top diplomats, Wang told a press conference at the State Department, adding that it shows that both China and the United States attach great importance to the bilateral relationship.
"As foreign ministers, it is our task to clear the way ahead and to remove obstacles to the smooth development of our bilateral relations," Wang said, emphasizing that Beijing and Washington have "far more common interests than areas of disagreement."
LIMITING DPRK NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Important progress has been made on a UN resolution on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which is expected to be adopted in the coming days, Wang told reporters.
Once the resolution is implemented, it will effectively limit further progress of the DPRK's nuclear missile program, Wang said.
Kerry also hailed the "significant progress" made on the resolution, adding that "it will go beyond anything that we have previously passed."
Members of the UN Security Council are in the final stage of drafting the resolution, a response to DPRK's nuclear test last month and satellite launch earlier this month.
"We do not accept the DPRK's nuclear missile program and we do not recognize the DPRK as a nuclear weapon state," Wang said.
The top Chinese diplomat also said the resolution itself cannot fundamentally solve the Korean nuclear issue. "To really do that, we need to return to the track of dialogue and negotiation," Wang said.
Wang's viewpoint was echoed by Kerry, who said that the goal of the resolution is not to be "in a series of cycling, repetitive punishments."
Wang also put forward the proposal of pursuing a parallel track: the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the replacement of the Korean armistice with a peace agreement.
