Foreign Ministry officials on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on April 22 that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China from April 24 to 26 at the invitation of Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs. On the same day, the person in charge of the Department of North America and Oceania of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave a background briefing to the media on the situation of the visit.

The head of the Department of U.S. and Pacific Affairs said that Secretary Blinken's visit to China is part of the implementation of the San Francisco meeting between the two heads of state, maintaining dialogue, managing differences, advancing cooperation, and strengthening coordination on international affairs. The two sides have been in constant communication about the visit. On April 2, President Biden spoke with President Xi and expressed his desire to arrange Secretary of State Blinken's visit to China. China welcomes this.

In November last year, the Chinese and US heads of state held a historic meeting in San Francisco, where they reached a series of important consensus and outcomes, opening up the "San Francisco Vision" for the future. At the beginning of the year, President Xi Jinping and President Biden exchanged congratulatory letters on the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, met with representatives of the U.S. business community and strategic academia on March 27, and had a telephone conversation with President Biden on April 2. Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-US relations have shown a trend of stopping decline and stabilizing. At the same time, negative factors in the relations between the two countries are also prominent. We firmly oppose and counteract the US side's stubborn strategy of containing China, and its erroneous words and deeds of interfering in China's internal affairs, tarnishing China's image and undermining China's interests.

Mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation have always been the fundamental principles of China's view and handling of China-US relations. Putting peace first, stability and trustworthiness are what China has followed in handling China-US relations this year. During Secretary Blinken's visit, China focused on five major goals.

First, establish a correct understanding. This has always been the "first button" that must be buttoned up in Sino-US relations. Whether China and the United States are partners or adversaries is a fundamental question, and we must not make subversive mistakes. We have always believed that great power competition is not the background color of this era, nor can it solve the problems facing China, the United States and the world. China and the United States are two major countries that cannot refrain from interacting and dealing with each other, still less can they clash and confront each other. China-US relations should stabilize and improve, and move forward along a stable, healthy, and sustainable path. At the same time, China has interests that must be safeguarded, principles that must be defended, and bottom lines that must be adhered to. President Biden has repeatedly reiterated that the United States does not seek a "new Cold War", does not seek to change China's system, does not seek to contain China's development, does not seek to oppose China through strengthening alliances, does not support "Taiwan independence", has no intention of conflict with China, and does not seek "decoupling" from China. We urge the US side to implement President Biden's above-mentioned commitments and work with China to turn the San Francisco Vision into reality, instead of continuing to contain, contain and suppress China in the name of "competition". The diplomatic teams of the two sides will continue to negotiate the guiding principles of China-US relations on the basis of the seven-point consensus reached on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, maintaining communication, preventing conflicts, abiding by the UN Charter, cooperating in areas of common interest, and responsibly managing competing factors in the bilateral relationship.

Second, strengthen dialogue. Since the San Francisco Summit, China and the United States have carried out a series of important contacts at various levels and in various fields, and the heads of the two sides' diplomatic and security, economic, trade and finance, climate change, law enforcement, agriculture, and cultural departments have maintained interaction through visits, meetings, phone calls, and working group meetings, and the two militaries have resumed communication. More than 20 institutional consultations established or restarted at the San Francisco meeting continue to operate. China's door to dialogue and communication is always open. At the same time, the US side must realize that it cannot communicate for the sake of communication, cannot say one thing and do another, and still less should it have the illusion of dealing with China from a so-called "position of strength". The so-called U.S. alliance system is a product of the Cold War period, embodying the outdated Cold War mentality and the zero-sum game concept of "you lose and I win". The US side is obsessed with coercing its allies into forming an anti-China coterie and is completely against the trend, which is unpopular and has no way out.

Third, we need to effectively manage differences. China and the United States have had differences in the past, are and will continue to exist, but we must not allow differences to dominate China-US relations, and we must adhere to the whole-process management of China-US relations. In particular, the US must not touch China's red lines on issues such as Taiwan, democracy and human rights, the road system, and the right to development. China is unwavering in its determination and will to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and will focus on Taiwan, economy, trade, science and technology, and the South China Sea.

The Taiwan issue is the first red line in Sino-US relations that cannot be crossed. Taiwan is a part of China, and the Taiwan issue is China's internal affair. "Taiwan independence" and peace in the Taiwan Strait are incompatible. The biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the separatist activities and external connivance and support of the "Taiwan independence" forces. China firmly opposes the recent erroneous words and deeds of the US on the Taiwan issue, and urges the US side to abide by the one-China and China-US joint communiqués, put into action President Biden's statement that he does not support "Taiwan independence", oppose "Taiwan independence", stop arming Taiwan, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, and support China's peaceful reunification.

The United States has intensified its economic, trade, and technological repressive measures against China, and has continuously adopted new measures in the areas of export controls, investment reviews, and unilateral sanctions, which have seriously damaged China's interests. It's not about de-risking, it's about creating risk. The so-called "theory of China's overcapacity" thrown out by the US seems to be an economic concept, but in fact it is a false narrative, which contains the evil intention of containing and suppressing China's industrial development, aiming to seek a more favorable competitive position and market advantage for the country, and is naked economic coercion and bullying. In recent years, China's exports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaic products and other products have increased, which is the result of the international division of labor and market demand, which is conducive to promoting the green development of the world. The previous US administration launched a Section 301 investigation on China and imposed tariffs on China, which was ruled by the WTO to be in violation of WTO rules and opposed by many WTO members. The US has made repeated mistakes in launching a new Section 301 investigation out of domestic political needs. States' national security concerns must be legitimate, legitimate, and boundary. We firmly oppose the politicization of economic, trade, and scientific and technological issues by the United States, and we also tell the United States that suppressing China's science and technology is to curb China's high-quality development and deprive the Chinese people of their legitimate right to development, and China will resolutely respond to it.

China firmly opposes US meddling in the South China Sea issue and sowing discord between China and ASEAN. China has indisputable sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and its adjacent waters, and is willing to continue to properly handle maritime issues with relevant parties through dialogue and consultation, so as to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea. At the same time, China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests brook no infringement, and China's determination to safeguard its legitimate rights is unwavering. China and the United States have established a consultation mechanism on maritime affairs and Asia-Pacific affairs, and the two sides can continue dialogue. However, the United States is not a party to the South China Sea issue and should not intervene, let alone stir up trouble.

Fourth, promote mutually beneficial cooperation. Over the past few years, the two sides have made some progress in the fields of anti-narcotics, law enforcement, science and technology, artificial intelligence, agriculture, public health, and climate change. Direct flights between the two countries have increased, business circles and local provinces and states have maintained close exchanges, youth exchanges have been active, cultural and sports interactions have been enthusiastic, and cooperation in giant panda conservation has been promoted in an orderly manner. All this fully shows that China and the United States have extensive common interests and can achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, and also fully demonstrate that the hope of China-US relations lies in the people, the foundation lies in the people, the future lies in the youth, and the vitality lies in the localities.

Fentanyl is not China's problem, nor is it a problem caused by China, but we are not sitting idly by and are willing to help the American people. Since the San Francisco Summit, China has kept its word, made progress in Sino-US anti-narcotics cooperation, and China has made tremendous efforts to this end. The U.S. side should address China's concerns.

Fifth, we need to share the responsibilities of major countries. China and the United States are both permanent members of the Security Council and bear special responsibilities for the maintenance of international peace and security. China is playing a constructive and responsible role as a major country on hotspot issues such as the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, and we hope the same will be true for the United States.

The international community is extremely dissatisfied and disappointed that the United States exclusively vetoed Palestine as a full member of the United Nations in the Security Council. Palestine's entry into full membership of the United Nations should not be the result of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, but rather an important step towards a two-State solution, giving Palestine equal conditions for negotiations. The United States has no exceptions or privileges in abiding by international law and the rules of the Security Council, and should let go of its hegemonic mentality of being self-serving. The US should work with other member states to fulfill its international responsibilities, support Security Council Resolution 2728, and promote a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible to save the Palestinian people from fire and water. The Chinese side will make clear demands to the US side in this regard.

There is a danger that the Ukraine crisis will deteriorate further, and it should be pushed to cool down and end the war through negotiations, not guns. A political solution is not about who wins and who loses, but about peace. China is not the creator or party to the Ukraine crisis, and will continue to play a constructive role in upholding an objective and fair position, actively promoting peace talks and promoting a political settlement. The US needs to reflect on its responsibilities in the Ukraine crisis, refrain from adding fuel to the fire and taking advantage of the opportunity to reap profits, refrain from attacking and smearing the normal state-to-state relations between China and Russia, inciting bloc confrontation, and refraining from smearing and slandering China and shifting the blame. The US should also immediately stop imposing unilateral sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals. The Ukraine issue is not an issue between China and the United States, and the United States should not turn it into a problem between China and the United States.

When asked how he views the negative developments of the United States in recent times, such as the summit of leaders with Japan and the Philippines, the head of the US Department of Foreign Affairs said that China has expressed serious concern over the recent promotion of the "Indo-Pacific strategy" by the United States against China and a series of erroneous words and deeds related to China in China's neighborhood. The deployment of an intermediate-range missile launch system by the US in the Philippines has exacerbated regional tensions and increased the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation. The "trilateral security partnership" cobbled together by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia is bent on developing nuclear submarines in the region, triggering serious risks of nuclear proliferation and intensifying the arms race. The Asia-Pacific region is not anyone's backyard and should not become a gladiatorial arena for major powers. We urge the US to earnestly respect the security concerns of other countries and the efforts of regional countries to maintain peace and stability, abandon the Cold War mentality, stop creating military tensions and bloc confrontation, and stop cobbling together anti-China and containment "small circles" around China.

In response to the US side's claim that it will express its concern about human rights issues during the visit, the head of the US Department of International Affairs said that Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong-related issues are all China's internal affairs and have nothing to do with so-called human rights, and the US must not use human rights as an excuse to interfere in China's internal affairs. Human rights are not the preserve of any country. The people of each country have the best say in the human rights of each country. The US should first face up to its own human rights issues and is not in a position to point fingers at other countries.

Referring to the issue of the US side investigating and harassing and even repatriating Chinese students who are of great concern to Chinese society, the responsible person of the Department of US and Pacific Affairs said that the US side has constantly generalized the concept of national security and arbitrarily canceled visas, banned entry into the country, and forcibly repatriated Chinese students without definite evidence, causing great harm to the parties concerned. China will continue to urge the US side to stop poisoning the public opinion environment of the two countries, stop obstructing friendly exchanges between the two peoples, correct its erroneous practices, conduct a thorough investigation of the relevant cases, and give the victims an explanation. The Chinese government governs for the people and will continue to take measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens.