Chinese, US top diplomats discuss efforts to ‘responsibly manage’ competition

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – The top diplomats of China and the US on Monday discussed efforts to “responsibly manage” the competition between the two countries.

Wang Yi and Antony Blinken held a phone call, the first since Beijing concluded its 20th National Congress early this month, which is held after five years.

“In my call with PRC (People’s Republic of China) Foreign Minister Wang Yi, we spoke about our efforts to responsibly manage the competition between our two countries, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and support for Haiti,” US Secretary of State Blinken said on Twitter.

A readout from Beijing said Wang told his US counterpart that the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) 20th National Congress resolved that China will “adhere to the foreign policy purpose of maintaining world peace and promoting common development, continue to pursue the basic national policy of opening up, promote the overall progress of mankind with Chinese-style modernization, and bring new developments to the world with China's new development.”

He, however, pointed out that bringing China-US relations back to the track of stable development “is not only in the common interests of China and the US but also the general expectation of the international community.”

“The US side should stop its efforts to contain and suppress China, and not create new obstacles to the relationship between the two countries,” Wang told Blinken, referring to new US regulations on export control to China.

Restricting investments in China “seriously violate free trade rules, and seriously harm China’s legitimate rights and interests, which must be corrected,” Wang said.

Wang urged the US side to carefully study the report of the CPC 20th National Congress “if the US really wants to understand China.”

“China's domestic and foreign policies are open and transparent, and its strategic intentions are clear. The US side should stop wearing tinted glasses to make subjective guesses, let alone let ideological prejudice cloud its eyes,” Wang said.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement, Blinken said that the world “looks forward to US-China cooperation.”

“The US side is willing to maintain communication with the Chinese side on the next stage of US-China relations, carry out cooperation, and discuss the basis of bilateral relations,” said the top American diplomat.

The duo also discussed Ukraine and other issues.

“All parties should exercise restraint, make a calm decision, and step-up diplomatic efforts to prevent the situation from further escalating or even getting out of control,” Wang said.