On eve of New year, China looks to ‘new atmosphere’ in relations with US

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Chinese and US foreign ministers on Friday stressed the need to keep open lines of communications between the world’s two largest economies while on the eve of New Year, Beijing called for a “new atmosphere” in the bilateral relations with Washington.

During a phone call between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his US counterpart Antony Blinken, the two discussed bilateral relations, the Ukraine crisis, the COVID-19 situation, and global security and economic stability.

A brief readout from the US State Department said Blinken discussed the “need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the US-PRC (People’s Republic of China) relationship.”

The US side raised “concerns about Russia’s war against Ukraine and the threats it poses to global security and economic stability.”

Wang stressed that China has “always stood by the side of peace and the purposes of the UN Charter.”

“Standing on the side of the international community to promote peace and talks, we will continue to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis in our own way,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Wang as telling Blinken.

As the coronavirus cases rise in China, the US statement said Wang and Blinken “discussed the current COVID-19 situation” and the US secretary of state “underscored the importance of transparency for the international community.”

- Beijing for increasing consultations with Washington

Recalling the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden in Bali, Indonesia, last month, Wang said while the meeting “strategically guided” the Chinese-US relations “out of serious difficulties, returning to a healthy and stable track,” it also sent a “positive signal” to the outside world.

Xi and Biden met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in November. It was their first face-to-face meeting since Biden was inaugurated as the US president two years back.

Wang said follow-up meetings by the two sides since the Xi-Biden summit in Bali are “generally beneficial.”

“However, it must be pointed out that the US cannot engage in containment while seeking dialogue, or stab the knife while discussing cooperation,” he told Blinken.

“This is not reasonable competition, but unreasonable suppression; it is not about controlling differences, but intensifying conflicts,” he warned.

The Chinese foreign minister called such acts “old routine unilateral bullying.”

“This did not work in China in the past, and it will not work in the future. China will continue to resolutely defend its sovereignty, security and development interests. The US must pay attention to China’s legitimate concerns and stop containing and suppressing China’s development. In particular, it must not continue to challenge China’s red line,” he said.

The Chinese side advocated stepping up consultations on the guiding principles of Sino-US relations to “orderly promote dialogue at all levels and in various fields, and solve specific issues between the two countries through joint working groups.”

- 'New Year, new atmosphere'

Striking an optimistic note, Wang said the New Year “should have a new atmosphere” in bilateral relations between the two countries.

“The two countries and the people of the world generally hope that Sino-US relations will stop falling and recover,” he said during the phone call.

“The zero-sum thinking will only lead to the consumption of the two major powers and a head-on collision.”

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Blinken said the US side is willing to carry out cooperation in areas that serve the common interests of the two countries.

“The US side continues to pursue the one-China policy and does not support Taiwan’s ‘independence’,” the statement quoted Blinken.

- China sanctions 2 US nationals

Meanwhile, China on Friday announced sanctioning two US nationals over Tibet.

The Foreign Ministry said American nationals Miles Yu and Todd Stein were sanctioned “as countermeasures to the illegal US sanctions on two Chinese officials on so-called human rights issues related to China's Tibet Autonomous Region.”

Early this month, Washington sanctioned two Chinese officials over Tibet.

“The sanctions were illegal and seriously harmed China-US relations,” Beijing said.

Yu and Stein and their families will be banned from entering China while any of their assets were frozen by the Chinese authorities.