China should ‘lay down its cards’ and push for more talks with US, former top Chinese diplomat says

Fu Ying, who was the deputy foreign minister, also said the country needed to be more transparent on its defence policy

In an opinion piece ahead of a meeting between Yang Jiechi and Mike Pompeo, she said the two sides should stick to the phase one trade deal

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Former deputy foreign minister Fu Ying urged Beijing to be proactive about pushing for “candid dialogue” on key issues. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:30pm, 17 Jun 2020Updated: 11:26pm, 17 Jun 2020

A former senior Chinese diplomat has urged Beijing to be proactive in pushing for talks with Washington and to be more transparent on its defence policy, ahead of a meeting between the two sides in Hawaii.

“China should consider taking the initiative to lay down its cards and push for candid dialogue on key areas,” Fu Ying, former deputy foreign minister, wrote in an opinion piece published in semi-official magazine China Newsweek on Wednesday.

Fu – who was the deputy minister from 2009 to 2013 and continues to closely watch diplomatic relations – also said both sides should stick to the phase one trade deal agreed in January, despite its limitations.

“Giving up the deal would bring bigger risks; implementing it will avoid a deterioration of ties at an even faster rate,” she wrote. “Many of the issues touched on in the deal are issues that China needs to resolve in its own reforms.”

Yang Jiechi and Mike Pompeo are expected to hold talks in Hawaii on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Fu’s piece was published the same day US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was expected to meet Yang Jiechi, the Communist Party’s top diplomat, in Hawaii.

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