As US and China mark 45 years of diplomatic ties, top diplomat Wang Yi warns against confrontation and ‘zero-sum games’

The US and China should not head towards confrontation over their differences but should remove barriers to cooperation, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said as the two sides marked the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Speaking in Beijing on Friday at an event commemorating the anniversary of the establishment of US-China relations, China’s top diplomat said the “top priority” for the two countries was to “effectively manage differences”. He added that “cooperation is the most correct choice” for the two sides to get along.

“We should not go into confrontation just because of differences, let alone wield the big stick of sanctions and engage in power hegemony and zero-sum games,” he told more than 300 guests representing various sectors of both countries.

China, US leaders Xi and Biden exchange greetings on 45th anniversary of ties

Wang urged the removal of “barriers” in US-China cooperation, saying “artificial decoupling and containment” would eventually “backfire”.

“Both sides should continue to make full use of various mechanisms restored or established in the fields of diplomacy, economy, finance, commerce, agriculture and other fields, build bridges of communication as soon as possible, pave the road for cooperation, and eliminate various barriers to exchanges between the two countries.”

He noted the recent progress in resuming top-level military-to-military communications and said a joint anti-narcotics working group would kick off soon. The resumption of military dialogues and the working group were among the topics Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden agreed on during their summit in San Francisco in November.

Wang also said China expected to send another giant panda to California this year after multiple pandas Beijing lent to the US returned to their home country last year, leaving only four pandas in the US.

Wang’s remarks came after Xi and Biden exchanged congratulations on Monday to celebrate the occasion. In their messages to each other, the leaders both said they would “push forward” relations between the two countries, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

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US-China relations fell to a new low after a controversial Taiwan visit by former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August 2022 and the “spy balloon” saga last February, which suspended high-level communications between the two sides until a recent thaw at the leader summit in San Francisco, where both sides agreed to manage tensions.

However, relations remain strained over issues such as the South China Sea, Taiwan and Xinjiang.

China also sanctioned a US company and two researchers last month in response to US Treasury Department sanctions on Chinese entities over their links to alleged human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

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The US and China are also keeping a close eye on Taiwan’s presidential election on January 13, when the island’s voters are due to elect a new leader. The election results are expected to have major implications for US-China relations.

In his speech, Wang urged the US to respect China’s decision to safeguard its territorial sovereignty.

“China has no intention to replace or dominate anyone, let alone seek hegemony,” he said.

“We hope that the United States can … respect China’s development path, respect China’s core interests, and respect China’s defence of national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

South China Morning Post