BEIJING: President Xi Jinping and United States President Joe Biden affirmed in a phone conversation on Tuesday the progress achieved so far in bilateral ties since their meeting in San Francisco in November, and agreed to strengthen communication to avoid misjudgment in order to push for the steady development of China-US relations.
The two heads of state considered their phone conversation to be “candid and constructive”, according to a news release from the Foreign Ministry after the phone talk. The phone call was their latest interaction after exchanging congratulations on the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries on Jan 1.
Xi said that the stabilizing trend of bilateral ties in recent months has been welcomed by both societies and the international community. On the other hand, there has been an increase in negative factors that require attention from both sides, he added.
Xi stressed that the issue of strategic perception is always fundamental to the China-US relationship, just like the first button of a shirt that must be put right.
Two big countries like China and the US should not cut off their ties or turn their backs on each other, still less slide into conflict or confrontation, he said. The two countries should respect each other, coexist in peace and pursue win-win cooperation, he added, and the relationship should continue moving forward in a stable, sound and sustainable way, rather than going backward. As for the development of the China-US relationship this year, Xi stressed holding on to the bottom line of nonconflict and nonconfrontation, and maintaining the overall stability of bilateral ties by refraining from setting the relationship back, provoking incidents or overstepping boundaries.
The two countries should also fulfill their respective commitments with actions, thus transforming the San Francisco vision into reality, Xi said. The Chinese president reiterated that the Taiwan question is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations.
It is hoped that the US side will take real actions to honor Biden’s commitment of not supporting “Taiwan independence”, he said.
According to Xi, the US is creating risks, instead of “de-risking” as it claims, by adopting endless measures to suppress China’s trade and technology sectors with a growing list of sanctions against Chinese enterprises.
If the US is willing to engage in mutually beneficial cooperation with China and share in the dividends of China’s development, the door is always open, Xi said. However, if the US insists on suppressing China’s high-tech development and depriving China of its legitimate development rights, the Chinese side will not stand idly by, he said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
