US must find a way to deal with China, avoid clashes, senior officials say

Nations should ‘strengthen communication and understanding, and expand cooperation’, Wang Qishan says on 50th anniversary of ‘ping pong diplomacy’

Foreign Minister Wang Yi says US has ‘not yet overcome its misunderstanding of China, and has yet to find the right path to deal with China’

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi says America’s policy towards China has not come out from the shadows of the Trump administration. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 6:09pm, 24 Apr 2021Updated: 6:39pm, 24 Apr 2021

The United States has yet to find the right way to deal with China, and should focus on its domestic issues rather than clashing with Beijing as a rival, according to two of China’s senior officials.

At an event on Saturday in Beijing to mark the 50th anniversary of the US’ and China’s “ping pong diplomacy”, Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan called on the two countries to treasure their years of cooperation and avoid strategic misjudgment.

“China-US relations are at an important juncture,” he said. “As the two largest economies in the world and permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and the United States need to strengthen communication and understanding and expand cooperation in many areas.”

He also called on the two countries to follow through on the commitments to cooperate made by Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden when they spoke over the phone in February.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was more direct in his assessment of the future of China-US relations. Speaking at a virtual meeting hosted by the US Council on Foreign Relations on Friday, he said Washington could not expect Beijing to cooperate on issues of American interest while it was constantly challenging Beijing on issues like Taiwan and Xinjiang.