CHINA USA
Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden held a China-US summit
People's Daily - China-Africa Boshang
16 November 2023
Du Shangze Jiang Yun
On November 15, local time, President Xi Jinping held a meeting between the heads of state of China and the United States with US President Joe Biden at Philori Manor in San Francisco. The two heads of state had a frank and in-depth exchange of views on strategic, overall, and directional issues related to Sino-US relations, as well as major issues related to world peace and development.
Xi Jinping pointed out that the world is undergoing major changes unseen in a century, and China and the United States have two choices: one is to strengthen solidarity and cooperation, work together to address global challenges, and promote world security and prosperity. The other is to embrace a zero-sum mentality, stir up camp confrontation, and make the world turbulent and divided. The two options represent two directions that will determine the future of humanity and the future of the planet. As the most important bilateral relationship in the world, China-US relations should be considered and planned against this background. It is impossible for China and the United States not to deal with each other, it is unrealistic to want to change each other, and no one can bear the consequences of conflict and confrontation. Great power competition will not solve the problems facing China, the United States, and the world. This earth can accommodate both China and the United States. The success of China and the United States is an opportunity for each other.
Xi Jinping pointed out that mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation are not only the experience extracted from the 50 years of China-US relations, but also the enlightenment brought about by the conflicts between major powers in history, which should be the direction of joint efforts between China and the United States. As long as the two sides adhere to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, they can transcend differences and find the right way for the two major countries to get along. At the Bali meeting last year, the US side said that it does not seek to change China's system, does not seek a "new Cold War," does not seek to oppose China through strengthening alliances, does not support "Taiwan independence," and has no intention of clashing with China. At this San Francisco meeting, China and the United States should have a new vision and work together to build the five pillars of China-US relations.
The first is to jointly establish a correct understanding. China has always been committed to building a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship. At the same time, China has interests that must be safeguarded, principles that must be defended, and bottom lines that must be adhered to. It is hoped that the two countries will be partners, respect each other and coexist peacefully.
The second is to work together to effectively manage differences. Differences should not be allowed to become a chasm between the two countries, but should be found to build bridges between them. The two sides should understand each other's bottom line of principles, do not toss, provoke, or cross the line, communicate more, have more dialogue, and discuss more, and calmly handle differences and accidents.
Third, we need to jointly promote mutually beneficial cooperation. China and the United States share a wide range of common interests in many areas, including traditional fields such as economy and trade, agriculture, and emerging fields such as climate change and artificial intelligence. The two sides should make full use of the mechanisms restored or established in the fields of diplomacy, economy, finance, commerce, and agriculture to carry out cooperation in the fields of anti-narcotics, judicial law enforcement, artificial intelligence, and science and technology.
Fourth, we should jointly shoulder the responsibilities of major countries. Solving the troubles facing human society is inseparable from the cooperation of major countries. China and the United States should set an example, strengthen coordination and cooperation on international and regional issues, and provide more public goods to the world. The initiatives put forward by the two sides should be open to each other, and they can also coordinate and dock to form a synergy.
Fifth, we should jointly promote people-to-people exchanges. It is necessary to increase direct flights between the two countries, promote tourism cooperation, expand local exchanges, strengthen educational cooperation, and encourage and support more exchanges and communication between the people of the two countries.
Xi Jinping elaborated in depth on the principled position on the Taiwan issue, pointing out that the Taiwan issue has always been the most important and sensitive issue in Sino-US relations. China attaches importance to the positive remarks made by the US side at the Bali meeting. The US side should reflect its statement of not supporting "Taiwan independence" in concrete actions, stop arming Taiwan, and support China's peaceful reunification. China will eventually be reunified, and it will be reunified.
Xi Jinping pointed out that the US has continuously taken measures against China in terms of export controls, investment reviews and unilateral sanctions, which have seriously undermined China's legitimate interests. To suppress China's science and technology is to curb China's high-quality development and deprive the Chinese people of their right to development. China's development and growth have an endogenous logic, which cannot be stopped by external forces. We hope that the US will take China's concerns seriously and take action to lift unilateral sanctions and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies.
Acknowledging the efforts made by their teams since their meeting in Bali to discuss the establishment of guiding principles for U.S.-China relations, the two presidents emphasized the need for mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, communication, conflict prevention, adherence to the UN Charter, cooperation in areas of common interest, and responsible management of competitive elements in the bilateral relationship. The two Heads of State welcomed the continuation of discussions between the teams on this issue.
The two presidents agreed to promote and strengthen dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in various fields, including: establishing an intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence; Establish a working group on China-US anti-drug cooperation to carry out anti-drug cooperation; On the basis of equality and respect, high-level communication between the two militaries will be resumed, the working meeting of the Chinese and US defense ministries will be met, and the meeting of the China-US Maritime Military Security Consultation Mechanism will be resumed, and telephone calls between the leaders of the Chinese and US military theaters will be held; agreed to a further substantial increase in flights earlier next year; Expand exchanges in education, international students, youth, culture, sports, and business, etc.
The two presidents emphasized the importance of accelerating U.S.-China efforts to address the climate crisis in this critical decade, and welcomed the recent positive discussions between the two climate envoys, including domestic action to reduce emissions in the 2020s, the joint promotion of the success of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai (COP28), and the launch of the U.S.-China Task Force on Enhanced Climate Action in the 2020s to accelerate concrete climate action.
Photo: Rao Aimin Ding Lin
Editor in charge: Liang Changjie