BEIJING: China has once again sent a clear and concrete message to the US, calling for bringing bilateral ties to the right track after US President Joe Biden failed to agree with allies at the G7 summit and Munich Security Conference on confronting China together, as State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at a forum held in Beijing on Monday, urged the new US administration to adjust its problematic policies on China “as soon as possible.”
“Over the past few years, the US cut off bilateral dialogue at all levels. And this was one of the main reasons for the deterioration in China-US relations,” Wang said in his address at the opening of the Lanting Forum on Promoting Dialogue and Cooperation and Managing Differences: Bringing China-US Relations Back to the Right Track. To right the wrongs and bring China-US relations back to the right track, the walls of misperceptions must be torn down first to clear the way for knowing, learning and understanding China, Wang said.
Wang said, “We know that the new US administration is reviewing and assessing its foreign policy. We hope US policymakers will keep pace with the time, see clearly the trend of the world, abandon biases, give up unwarranted suspicions, and move to bring the China policy back to reason to ensure a healthy and steady development of China-US relations.”
Chinese experts and former diplomats who participated in the forum said the Biden administration might still need time to review US policy toward China, so it would be difficult for the US to respond to China’s requests immediately. But time is flying fast, action is much more crucial than words, and China is not over-charging the US, in terms of policy demands. The requirements for fixing ties are reasonable.
Henry Paulson, former Treasury secretary, spoke via video link at the forum’s opening ceremony after Wang’s remarks. “I’m pleased that Joe Biden is now president…This will result in more predictable policies and less inflammatory rhetoric,” he said.
– The Daily Mail-Global Times News exchange item
