On the evening of June 19, 2023, Director-General of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Yang Tao briefed Chinese and foreign media on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China and took questions.

Yang Tao said that President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden held a successful meeting in Bali last November, and reached a series of important common understandings, setting the direction for China-U.S. relations. The U.S. side expressed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s hope to visit China as early as possible to follow up on the meeting. China welcomed that. However, since the beginning of this year, China-U.S. relations have been firstly impacted by the unmanned airship incident, and then affected by Tsai Ing-wen's "transit" through the United States, and have been worsened by the U.S. repeated erroneous words and deeds that have undermined China's interests. These led to a serious deviation of China-U.S. relations from the track identified by the two heads of state, seriously interrupted the agenda of dialogue and cooperation between the two sides, and gravely damaged the hard-won momentum of improvement in bilateral relations.

For some time now, the U.S. has repeatedly expressed the hope to look forward, turn the page, and get back on track of the common understandings reached between the two heads of state at their Bali meeting, and stated several times that Secretary Blinken still hoped to pay a visit to China as soon as possible. The international community also expressed the universal hope that China and the U.S. could deescalate tension. A strained China-U.S. relationship is not in the interests of the people of the two countries, nor is it what the international community expects to see. At the request of the U.S. side, China and the U.S. have recently conducted a series of engagements and communication during which the Chinese side made clear its principled positions and major concerns, and asked the U.S. side to remove disturbances and create the right atmosphere and conditions for high-level interactions. Ultimately, as agreed between the two sides, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a visit to China from June 18 to 19.

Yang Tao said that during Antony Blinken's visit to China, President Xi Jinping had a courtesy meeting with him on June 19. Xi expounded on China's principled position on stabilizing and growing China-U.S. relations from a strategic height, and shared his strategic thinking on how to guide the development of bilateral relations. President Xi Jinping emphasized the following points in the meeting: First, the world needs a generally stable China-U.S. relationship, and whether the two countries can find the right way to get along bears on the future and destiny of humanity. The vast expanse of the Earth is big enough to accommodate the respective development and common prosperity of China and the United States. Second, China respects U.S. interests and does not seek to challenge or displace the United States. In the same vein, the United States needs to respect China and must not hurt China's legitimate rights and interests. Neither side should try to shape the other side by its own will, still less deprive the other side of its legitimate right to development. Third, China hopes that the U.S. side will adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude, and work with China in the same direction. The two sides need to remain committed to the common understandings the two heads of state had reached in Bali, and translate the positive statements into actions so as to stabilize and improve China-U.S. relations.

On the same day, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi met with Secretary Blinken, and made clear China’s positions on  China-U.S. relations, the Taiwan question, the technological suppression of China, and other major issues involving China's core concerns. On June 18, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks with Secretary Blinken, and they had communication on a wide range of issues, including China-U.S. relations, the Taiwan question, and major international and regional issues of mutual interest and concern. Relevant meetings and talks were candid, in-depth, and constructive.

First, the Chinese side explicitly pointed out the crux of the current predicament in bilateral relations. The China-U.S. relationship is at the lowest point since its establishment. This does not serve the fundamental interests of the two peoples or meet the shared expectations of the international community. The root cause for this is U.S. misperception of China and its misguided China policy.

Second, the Chinese side pointed out that the United States need to reflect upon itself over the ups and downs in China-U.S. relations. The United States should adopt an objective and rational perception of China, work with China in the same direction, uphold the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, handle unexpected and sporadic events in a calm, professional and rational manner, jointly manage differences and avoid strategic surprises. It is necessary to deliver on the common understandings reached between President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden in Bali in letter and spirit, and work to stabilize and steer the relations back to the right track.

Third, the Chinese side put forward the direction and path to go in stabilizing China-U.S. relations. China's policy toward the United States remains consistent and stable. China is committed to building a stable, predictable and constructive relationship with the United States. The two sides should act with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world to reverse the downward spiral of the relationship, bring it back to the track of sound and steady development, and jointly explore the right way for China and the United States to get along with each other in the new era. The most urgent task is to follow through on the common understandings reached between the two presidents in Bali with real actions, and the fundamental guidance lies in the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation put forward by President Xi Jinping. These principles should also be the spirit jointly upheld, the red line jointly defended, and the goal jointly pursued by both sides.

Fourth, the Chinese side explained the historical logic and inevitable trend of China's development and rejuvenation, elaborated on the distinctive features of Chinese modernization and the rich substance of China's whole-process people's democracy, and urged the U.S. side not to project onto China its assumption that a strong country is bound to seek hegemony and not to misjudge China based on the beaten path of traditional Western powers.

Fifth, the Chinese side reiterated China's red line on core interests and major concerns. The Chinese side expounded on its solemn position and raised clear demands on the Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, the issue of path and system, and technological suppression of China, among others. The Chinese side stressed that the Taiwan question is the core of China's core interests, the most consequential issue and the most pronounced risk in the China-U.S. relationship. The Chinese side urged the U.S. side to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and unequivocally oppose "Taiwan independence". The Chinese side demanded that the United States stop playing up the so-called "China threat", lift illegal unilateral sanctions against China, stop suppressing China's scientific and technological advances, and not wantonly interfere in China's internal affairs.

Yang Tao briefed on the positive common understandings and results reached between the two sides. The most important one is that the two sides agreed to jointly implement the common understandings identified by the two presidents in Bali, and go back to the agenda set during the meeting. Both sides agreed to maintain high-level interactions according to the common understandings between the two presidents. Secretary Blinken invited State Councilor Qin Gang to visit the United States, and State Councilor Qin Gang expressed his readiness to make the visit at a mutually convenient time. Both sides agreed to keep moving forward consultations on the guiding principles of China-U.S. relations. Both sides agreed to continue advancing consultations through the joint working group to address specific issues in China-U.S. relations. Both sides agreed to encourage more people-to-people and educational exchanges and stay committed to increasing passenger flights between the two countries. Both sides welcomed more mutual visits by students, scholars and business people, and are ready to provide support and facilitation to this end.

Yang Tao answered questions from journalists.

Regarding the Taiwan question, Yang Tao said that the Taiwan question has always been the most crucial issue in China-U.S. relations. The United States has made clear commitments on "one China" by acknowledging that there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is a part of China, and the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. These commitments are explicitly reflected in the three China-U.S. joint communiqués. This also means that the United States recognizes the true status quo of the Taiwan Strait, that is, there is but one China in the world, and both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China, which the United States calls the "one-China policy". The U.S. "one-China policy" was originally straightforward, using only the three China-U.S. joint communiqués as the attributive words. But later the attributive words became more and more, and the "Taiwan Relations Act" and "Six Assurances to Taiwan" were successively added. Both the "Taiwan Relations Act" and the "Six Assurances to Taiwan" are unilaterally concocted by the U.S. side, not the consensus between China and the United States. China has resolutely opposed and refused to recognize them from the very beginning. There is also a move by the United States to link the peaceful resolution of the Taiwan question with its "one-China policy" and make it a core element of its "one-China policy". This is not a reaffirmation of or adherence to the U.S. commitment to China, but a distortion of it.

Regarding the issues related to Xinjiang, Xizang and Hong Kong, Yang Tao said that the issues related to Xinjiang, Xizang and Hong Kong are not about human rights, religion or ethnicity. They are major issues concerning China's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as China's national security, which bears on China's core interests and allows no external interference.

Regarding democracy and human rights, Yang Tao said that democracy and human rights are the common pursuits of mankind. We have full confidence in the progress of China's whole-process people's democracy and China's human rights cause, and hold that all countries have the right to follow the path of democracy and human rights that suits their national conditions. Countries have different practices in democracy and human rights, and they can learn from each other and improve together. However, they should not point fingers at other countries or even use democracy and human rights as a pretext to interfere in China's internal affairs.

Regarding the so-called "rules-based international order", Yang Tao said that the original intention of President Xi Jinping’s proposal to build a community with a shared future for mankind is to seek the largest possible common ground for building international solidarity and cooperation and meeting global challenges. China is the first country to put its signature on the UN Charter, and is a founder, defender and beneficiary of the current international order. Why should China change the existing international order? Some people keep talking about the "rules-based international order". But what are the rules they are referring to? If it is the UN Charter, China has no problem with it. If it is the rules formulated by a handful of countries, China, like many other countries, cannot accept it.

Regarding "de-risking", Yang Tao said that the first thing to clarify is what risks are and where they come from. China contributes stability, certainty, and positive energy to the world. How can it be a risk? No matter how it is disguised, the "de-risking" pushed by the U.S. means the same thing as "decoupling and severing supply chains". It is “desinicization” in essence, and will end up decoupling itself from opportunities, cooperation, stability, and development. Far from solving the U.S. own problems, this approach will backfire and hurt the U.S. itself, and encumber the world. What China and the United States should do is to work together to lead global cooperation in addressing global risks in the interests of the well-being of humanity.

Regarding communication, Yang Tao said that China never rejects communication. The crux of the matter is: How to communicate? Can it achieve desired results? Communication should be first and foremost based on mutual respect and equal-footed consultation. Communication must also be effective. One should not conduct communication just for the sake of communication, nor should one only seek to solve its own concerns while ignoring the other's concerns. One must not say one thing but do the opposite. China is ready to conduct constructive communication and dialogue in the spirit of mutual respect. The United States should also show its sincerity with concrete action. Stabilizing China-U.S. relations requires both sides to work together in the same direction.

Regarding China-U.S. military-to-military relations, Yang Tao said that the United States knows full well the reasons why China-U.S. military-to-military relations are encountering difficulties. That includes U.S. unilateral sanctions against China. The United States should first remove the obstacles to military exchanges and cooperation between the two sides.

Regarding the so-called treatment of U.S. enterprises in China, Yang Tao said that more than 70,000 U.S. enterprises are operating in China. According to the U.S.-China Business Council, nearly 90 percent of them are profitable, and most of them want to continue operations in China. China will open its door still wider, and will further foster a market-oriented, world-class business environment governed by a sound legal framework. In the meantime, both Chinese and foreign enterprises operating in China must abide by the law.

Regarding the South China Sea issue, Yang Tao said that the United States is not a party to the South China Sea dispute. China's position on the South China Sea issue is based on sufficient historical and legal grounds. There has never been any problem with the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. In fact, it is the U.S. warships and aircraft that have flexed muscles and provoked China in adjacent areas of China under the guise of "freedom of navigation", thus increasing the maritime and air security risks. If the United States truly cares about stability in the South China Sea and wants to avoid any accidents, it should stop close-in reconnaissance on China.

Regarding the Ukraine crisis, Yang Tao said that China's position is very clear and consistent. President Xi Jinping has put forward "four points" on what must be done, "four things" the international community must do together, and "three observations" on the crisis. These are the basic principles China follows in handling the Ukraine crisis, and the essential idea is to promote talks for peace and seek political settlement. China supports all efforts conducive to bringing an end to the hostilities and promoting peace talks. China will continue to uphold an objective and impartial position and work in its own way to promote peace talks. China will not favor one side against the other, nor will it add fuel to the fire, still less exploit the crisis to its own advantage. No country can force China to take sides, nor should they distort and smear China's position. Unilateral sanctions against Chinese enterprises and individuals must be stopped. Should China have to choose a side, it chooses to stand on the side of peace and the side of promoting peace talks and seeking political settlement. Some countries have demanded that China not provide weapons to Russia, but who on earth are providing weapons to the conflicting party? The world could not see it more clearly. China urges relevant countries to stop fanning the flames and fueling the fire, and stop smearing and slandering China.

Reporters from Xinhua News Agency, the China Media Group, the China Global Television Network, Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, CNN, Lianhe Zaobao, the Straits Times, and other media attended the briefing.