On March 7, 2024, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi elaborated on China’s principled position on China-US relations when he met the press during the NPC and CPPCC sessions.

Wang Yi said that the China-U.S. relationship is critical to the well-being of the two peoples, and to the future of humanity and the world. No matter how the international landscape evolves, China always keeps its U.S. policy stable and consistent, and always handles the relationship with a sense of responsibility for history, for the people and for the world. China’s position is the three principles proposed by President Xi Jinping—mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation. They are a statement of the experiences and lessons of the 50-plus years of China-U.S. relations, and represent the right way for interactions between major countries. They should be observed and acted upon by both sides.

Wang Yi said that mutual respect is the precondition, because interaction sustains only when differences in social and political systems are respected and acknowledged. Peaceful coexistence is the baseline, because conflict and confrontation between two major countries like China and the U.S. have unimaginable consequences. Win-win cooperation is the goal, because when working together, China and the U.S. can do great things conducive to the two countries and the world.

Wang Yi said that at the historic meeting in San Francisco last November, the two presidents reached common understandings and charted the course for stabilizing the China-U.S. relationship and bringing it back on the track of sound development. President Xi Jinping elaborated on China’s fundamental approach and principled position on developing relations with the United States. President Biden reiterated that the U.S. does not seek a new Cold War, does not seek to change China’s system, does not seek to revitalize its alliance against China, and does not support “Taiwan independence.” He also stated that the U.S. is glad to see prosperity in China, and does not seek to contain or suppress China’s development or to decouple with China.

Wang Yi said that there has been some improvement in China-U.S. relations since the summit in San Francisco. This meets the interests and wishes of people of both countries and the world. But it has to be pointed out that U.S. misperception toward China continues and U.S. promises are not truly fulfilled. The U.S. has been devising various tactics to suppress China and kept lengthening its unilateral sanctions list, reaching bewildering levels of unfathomable absurdity. If the U.S. says one thing and does another, where is its credibility as a major country? If it gets jittery whenever it hears the word “China,” where is its confidence as a major country? If it only wants itself to prosper but denies other countries’ legitimate development, where is international fairness? If it persistently monopolizes the high end of the value chain and keeps China at the low end, where is fairness in competition? The challenge for the U.S. comes from itself, not from China. If the U.S. is obsessed with suppressing China, it will eventually harm itself. We urge the U.S. to be clear-eyed about the trend of the times, view China’s development objectively and rationally, engage in exchanges with China proactively and pragmatically, and act to fulfill its commitments. We hope that it will work with China to bring the relationship back on the track of stable, sound and sustainable development.

Wang Yi said that this year marks the 45th anniversary of China-U.S. diplomatic relations. President Xi Jinping pointed that the hope of the China-U.S. relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in grassroots connections, its future depends on the youth, and its vitality comes from subnational exchanges. China is always ready to strengthen dialogue and exchanges with the U.S. and promote friendly exchanges in various sectors, so as to build more bridges for mutual understanding and remove unnecessary misunderstanding and biases. China believes that the two sides are fully able to find a right path for the two different major countries to get along with each other.