Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing, capital of China, June 19, 2023. /Xinhua
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday.
President Xi pointed out that the world needs a generally stable China-U.S. relationship, and whether the two countries can find the right way to get along bears on the future of humanity.
The Chinese, like the Americans, are dignified, confident and self-reliant people, and they both have the right to pursue a better life, he said.
Noting that the common interests of the two countries should be valued and their respective success is an opportunity instead of a threat to each other, Xi said the two countries should act with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world, and handle China-U.S. relations properly.
In this way, they may contribute to global peace and development, and help make the world, which is changing and turbulent, more stable, certain and constructive, added Xi.
He stressed that major-country competition does not represent the trend of the times, still less can it solve America’s own problems or the challenges facing the world.
China respects U.S. interests and does not seek to challenge or displace the United States, and in the same vein, the United States needs to respect China and must not hurt China’s legitimate rights and interests, said Xi. “Neither side should try to shape the other side by its own will, still less deprive the other side of its legitimate right to development.”
Xi said China always hopes to see a sound and steady China-U.S. relationship and believes that the two major countries can overcome various difficulties and find the right way to get along based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, calling on the U.S. side to adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude and work with China in the same direction.
The Chinese president pointed out that the two sides need to remain committed to the common understandings he and U.S. President Joe Biden reached in Bali, and translate the positive statements into actions so as to stabilize and improve China-U.S. relations.
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Blinken, for his part, conveyed President Biden’s greetings to President Xi. He said Biden believes that the United States and China have an obligation to responsibly manage their relations. This is in the interest of the United States, China and the world, he said, adding that the United States is committed to returning to the agenda set by the two presidents in Bali.
The United States stands by the commitments made by Biden, namely the United States does not seek a new Cold War, it does not seek to change China’s system, its alliances are not directed at China, it does not support “Taiwan independence,” and it does not seek conflict with China, said Blinken.
He added, the U.S. side looks forward to having high-level engagement with the Chinese side, keeping open lines of communication, responsibly managing differences, and pursuing dialogue, exchanges and cooperation.
Xi asked Blinken to convey his regards to President Biden.
