Chinese foreign minister holds talks with US secretary of state

WASHINGTON -- Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese foreign minister, held two rounds of talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday and Friday.

The two sides agreed to work together toward a meeting between the two heads of state in San Francisco.

The current international situation is undergoing transformation and turbulence, and China-US relations are also at a critical crossroads, Wang said.

As the world's two largest economies and permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and the United States face not only their respective development tasks, but also common challenges, he said.

The Chinese foreign minister said China always believes that the common interests of the two countries outweigh their differences and disputes, that their respective success is an opportunity rather than a challenge for 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 and the United States should bring their relationship back on the track of healthy and steady development at an early date, so as to benefit both countries as well as the world, he added.

The twists and turns in the path of China-US relations this year offer both experience to sum up and lessons to draw, Wang said.

Most importantly, he said, the two sides should adhere to the following "five musts": must abide by the consensus 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.

In order to stabilize and further improve China-US relations, the two sides should have objective views of each other's strategic intentions, correctly treat the competitive factors in the exchanges between the two countries, and define the concept of national security, Wang said.

Blinken, for his part, said the United States and China have maintained contacts and interactions in recent months, and conducted candid and constructive communications, leading to positive outcomes.

The United States wants a stable and sustainable relationship with China, and is willing to enhance communications with the Chinese side, prevent miscalculations, discuss cooperation in areas where cooperation is needed and make good preparations for the next phase of high-level engagements.

In the coming days, the two sides will hold separate consultations on maritime affairs, arms control and nuclear nonproliferation, and diplomatic policies. The two countries will also hold a meeting to coordinate issues surrounding policies toward people with disabilities, eyeing the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for the benefit of the disabled.

The two sides also agreed to increase more direct passenger flights between the two countries.

Wang and Blinken also exchanged views on international and regional issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Wang said what's of utmost urgency right now is to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe on a larger scale, and the fundamental way out of the conflict is the two-state solution. Major countries, the foreign minister added, should remain calm, be objective, and uphold justice, while the United Nations should play its due role.

China is willing to work with all parties to activate a mechanism for promoting peace, build wider international consensus on implementing the two-state solution and discuss the provision of more effective international guarantees, Wang said.

Blinken said that maintaining durable peace and stability in the Middle East is in the interests of all parties, and that the US side shares the view that there is a need to return to the implementation of the two-state solution.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, among others.