China, US must pursue dialogue rather than confrontation: Chinese senior diplomat Wang Yi

Beijing [China], January 1 (ANI): China and the United States must pursue dialogue rather than confrontation and avoid the mistakes made during the Cold War, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said on Sunday in his first public comments since his appointment as head of the ruling Communist Party’s foreign affairs office, according to a report in Geo News.

The Geo News report also said: “Wang was replaced as China’s foreign minister on Friday by Qin Gang, former ambassador to the United States, but he was widely expected to retain a prominent role in foreign policy after his promotion in October to the Communist Party’s Politburo, the country’s top decision-making body.”

Wang in an essay published in the official Party journal Seeking Truth urged major countries to set an example in the face of multiple challenges. He also talked about China’s growing cooperation with Russia in 2022.

Wang in the essay said: “Over the past year, we have unremittingly explored the correct way for the two major countries of China and the United States to get along with each other.”

“The two countries should establish a way of getting along with mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation and put China-US relations back on the right track of health and stability,” he further said.

“Wang’s stint as foreign minister saw a sharp rise in tensions between Beijing and Washington on a wide range of issues ranging from trade to Taiwan,” reported Geo News.

Taiwan remains China’s core interest and the foundation on which China’s political relationship with the United States is built, Wang wrote in his Sunday essay.

Recently, the media reported that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin raised concern about Beijing’s ‘dangerous’ behaviour when he met his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cambodia.

The talks between Austin and Wei covered defence relations, as well as issues of regional and global security.

“Secretary Austin and General Wei discussed U.S.-PRC (China) defence relations and regional and global security issues. Secretary Austin emphasized the need to responsibly manage competition and maintain open lines of communication,” the Pentagon statement said.

In addition, the two ministers discussed the importance of substantive dialogue on reducing strategic risk, improving crisis communications and enhancing operational safety.

“He (Austin) raised concerns about the increasingly dangerous behaviour demonstrated by PLA aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region that increases the risk of an accident. The Secretary also affirmed that the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows,” it added.