President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met on October 27 with the People’s Republic of China Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the White House.
The President emphasized that both the United States and China need to manage competition in the relationship responsibly and maintain open lines of communication. He underscored that the United States and China must work together to address global challenges.
Wang Yi first conveyed President Xi Jinping‘s greetings to President Biden, saying that the purpose of this visit is to communicate with the U.S. side to earnestly implement the important common understandings between the two heads of state. Noting the Bali meeting and the upcoming meeting in San Francisco, Wang Yi said the two sides should work to stabilize the China-U.S. relationship from further deterioration, and bring it back to the track of sound and stable development at an early date.
Wang Yi said that the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, the most important political foundation of the bilateral relationship, must be earnestly maintained with efforts to steer clear of disruptions. China attaches importance to the U.S. side’s desire to stabilize and improve its relations with China. Wang Yi stressed the need to take on the responsibilities to the world, history and people to truly stabilize and improve China-U.S. relations in line with the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation proposed by President Xi Jinping. This not only serves the fundamental interests of both countries and their peoples, but also meets the common expectations of the international community said Wang Yi.
President Biden asked Wang Yi to extend his greetings to President Xi Jinping and expounded on the position that the U.S. values its relations with China. He said that the U.S. is ready to maintain communication with China and jointly address global challenges.
President Biden expressed his condolences on the passing of former Premier Li Keqiang.
During his visit, Wang Yi also held two rounds of talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and conducted strategic communication with Assistant to the U.S. President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan.
Secretary Blinken with Foreign Minister Wang Yi
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with PRC Director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Washington October 26-27.
The two sides met for more than seven hours over two days and had constructive and in-depth discussions, building on recent high-level meetings between the two countries as part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication on a full range of issues and responsibly manage the U.S.-China relationship. The Secretary emphasized that the United States will continue to use diplomacy to advance U.S. interests and values. He noted that we both have a responsibility to manage our differences and to work together on issues that matter to our people and the world. The Secretary also reiterated the importance of resuming military-to-military channels to reduce the risk of miscalculation.
Secretary Blinken underscored that it remains a priority for the United States to resolve the cases of American citizens who are wrongfully detained or subject to exit bans in China.
The two sides discussed the importance of the United States and China taking concrete steps to disrupt the global flow of synthetic drugs and their precursor chemicals into the United States that fuels the fentanyl crisis. The Secretary noted that the two sides have worked together before to make progress on counternarcotics that has saved American lives and should do so again.
The two sides continued to discuss the development of principles to guide the bilateral relationship as discussed by President Biden and President Xi in Bali last November. Reiterating the importance of ties between the people of the United States and the PRC, both sides welcomed strengthening people-to-people exchanges between students, scholars, and business, including working to increase the number of direct flights between our two countries.
The Secretary raised concerns about PRC human rights violations in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, as well as individual cases of concern. On respective economic policies, the Secretary stressed that the United States seeks healthy and robust economic competition with the PRC based on reciprocity and a level playing field for U.S. workers and businesses. He addressed the PRC’s unfair treatment of U.S. companies in China and nonmarket economic practices. The Secretary discussed the U.S. approach to de-risking and diversifying and underscored that our policies are narrowly targeted at technologies that have clear national security or human rights impacts and not about containing China’s economic growth.
The two sides had an exchange of views on the Palestine-Israel conflict and other international and regional issues.
The Secretary reiterated U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself and emphasized the importance of all countries – particularly permanent members of the United Nations Security Council –unequivocally denouncing Hamas’s terrorist attacks and using their influence to prevent escalation and expansion of the conflict. The Secretary detailed U.S. efforts to enable humanitarian assistance and protect civilian lives. The two sides discussed Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as the DPRK’s missile launches in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions and other provocative actions.
Wang Yi said, what is of utmost urgency right now is to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe on a larger scale, and the fundamental way out is to implement the two-state solution. Major countries should remain calm, be objective, and uphold justice, while the United Nations should play its due role. China is ready to work with all parties to activate a mechanism for promoting peace, build broader international consensus on the implementation of the two-state solution, and discuss the provision of more effective international guarantees.
The Secretary underscored the United States’ concerns with the PRC’s dangerous and unlawful actions obstructing an October 22 Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, reaffirmed our commitments to our Philippine allies, and raised broader concerns about PRC actions in the South and East China Seas. The Secretary emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Wang Yi said, the current international situation is undergoing transformation and turbulence, and China-U.S. relations are also at a critical crossroads. As the world’s two largest economies and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and the United States face both respective development tasks and common problems and challenges. China always believes that the common interests of China and the United States outweigh their differences and disputes, that their respective success is an opportunity rather than a challenge to each other, and that the way for major countries to get along should be dialogue and cooperation rather than a zero-sum game. China holds that China-U.S. relations should return to the track of sound and steady development as soon as possible, so as to benefit both countries and the world.
Wang Yi said, looking back at the twits and turns in the course of China-U.S. relations since the beginning of this year, the experience is worth summarizing and the lessons need to be drawn. The key is to follow the “five musts”. The two sides must follow the common understandings reached by the two heads of state; must stabilize bilateral relations; must keep communication channels open; must properly manage differences, disputes and frictions; and must promote mutually beneficial cooperation. Wang Yi stressed, to stabilize and improve China-U.S. relations, the two sides should also have objective understandings of each other’s strategic intentions, correctly view the competitive factors in the exchanges between China and the United States, and define the concept of national security.
The two sides discussed the importance of working together to address other shared challenges, including climate, noting the importance of an ambitious outcome at the upcoming COP28, as well as global macroeconomic stability, food security, public health, and counternarcotics. They also had an exchange of views on Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, among others.
Both sides reiterated their commitment to maintaining open lines of communication across the full range of issues, and look forward to additional engagements and consultations, to include arms control, maritime, policy planning, and disability, in the coming weeks.
In the coming days, the two sides will hold separately China-U.S. consultations on maritime affairs, China-U.S. consultations on arms control and non-proliferation, China-U.S. consultations on foreign policies, and China-U.S. Coordination Meeting on Disability Affairs and discuss the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in disability affairs. The two sides agreed to further increase direct passenger flights.
Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to work together for the meeting between the two heads of state in San Francisco.
A constructive discussion between National Security Advisor Sullivan and Foreign Minister Wang YI
On October 27, 2023 National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with People’s Republic of China Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Washington, D.C.
National Security Advisor Sullivan and Director Wang had candid, constructive, and substantive discussions on key issues in the U.S.-China bilateral relationship, the Israel-Hamas conflict, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and cross-Strait issues, among other topics.
National Security Advisor Sullivan discussed concerns over China’s dangerous and unlawful actions in the South China Sea. He raised the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Wang Yi pointed out that the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is “Taiwan independence”, which is also the biggest challenge facing China-U.S. relations. Wang Yi said it must be resolutely opposed and such efforts must be reflected in specific policies and actions. Wang Yi also elaborated on China’s solemn position on the South China Sea issue.
The two sides reaffirmed their desire to maintain this strategic channel of communication and to pursue additional high-level diplomacy, including working together towards a meeting between President Biden and President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November.
The two sides agreed to continue strategic communication.
National Security Advisor Sullivan expressed his condolences on the passing of former Premier Li Keqiang.