BEIJING, March 27 – The United States should work in tandem with China to provide more support and convenience for people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday.
Wang made the remark during a meeting in Beijing with Evan Greenberg, chair of the Board of Directors of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and Stephen Orlins, president of the committee.
The U.S. should meet China halfway and “continue enhancing mutual understanding through face-to-face contacts and exchanges”, he said, adding that it should also work with China to further stabilize, improve and advance bilateral relations.
Wang underscored that the crux of the relationship is the U.S.’ perception of China as its main strategic competitor and the most significant geopolitical challenge.
“This wrong perception “has led to constant problems in bilateral relations, and the promises made by U.S. leaders have failed to translate into practical actions”, he said.
Such a situation “is not in the interest of the two peoples or in line with the expectations of the international community, and is against the trend of the evolving history”, he added.
During their meeting with the foreign minister, Greenberg and Orlins said the U.S.-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, and it is in global interest that the two countries maintain communication and advance their ties in a positive direction.
The U.S.-China relationship started with engagement, and engagement does not necessarily mean compromise, as it is the only way to achieve sound and healthy development of the relationship, they said.
Speaking to reporters in Beijing earlier this week, Orlins said that U.S.-China ties have been lifted “from rock bottom”, and the two countries now “have enormous amounts of space to further improve” the ties.
Orlins said he is glad to see military-to-military contacts reestablished and the frequency of government-to-government talks increasing.
