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US-China relations
ChinaDiplomacy

As US and China mark 45 years of diplomatic ties, top diplomat Wang Yi warns against confrontation and ‘zero-sum games’

  • Speaking at event to mark anniversary of US-China relations, Chinese foreign minister says ‘artificial decoupling and containment’ will ‘backfire’
  • In the speech, Wang also notes progress in resuming military communications, anti-narcotics cooperation and panda exchanges

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gives a toast at a reception commemorating the 45th anniversary of China-US diplomatic ties in Beijing on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE
Kawala Xie
The US and China should not head towards confrontation over their differences but should remove barriers to cooperation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said as the two sides marked the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
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Speaking in Beijing on Friday at an event commemorating the anniversary of the establishment of US-China relations, China’s top diplomat said the “top priority” for the two countries was to “effectively manage differences”. He added that “cooperation is the most correct choice” for the two sides to get along.

“We should not go into confrontation just because of differences, let alone wield the big stick of sanctions and engage in power hegemony and zero-sum games,” he told more than 300 guests representing various sectors of both countries.

Wang urged the removal of “barriers” in US-China cooperation, saying “artificial decoupling and containment” would eventually “backfire”.

“Both sides should continue to make full use of various mechanisms restored or established in the fields of diplomacy, economy, finance, commerce, agriculture and other fields, build bridges of communication as soon as possible, pave the road for cooperation, and eliminate various barriers to exchanges between the two countries.”

He noted the recent progress in resuming top-level military-to-military communications and said a joint anti-narcotics working group would kick off soon. The resumption of military dialogues and the working group were among the topics Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden agreed on during their summit in San Francisco in November.
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Wang also said China expected to send another giant panda to California this year after multiple pandas Beijing lent to the US returned to their home country last year, leaving only four pandas in the US.

Wang’s remarks came after Xi and Biden exchanged congratulations on Monday to celebrate the occasion. In their messages to each other, the leaders both said they would “push forward” relations between the two countries, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
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