Sherman ends China visit with call to rise above differences on global issues
- Deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman names climate change, Covid-19 pandemic as issues of responsibility for great powers
- Her comments follow frank exchanges in Tianjin with China’s foreign minister Wang Yi and his deputy Xie Feng
Speaking after her talks on Monday with senior Chinese officials, Sherman said the US welcomed vigorous economic competition with China but did not want it to veer into conflict.
“There are some things that rise above specific differences that are the global responsibility of great powers,” she said, soon after wrapping up meetings with foreign minister Wang Yi and foreign vice-minister Xie Feng in the northern city of Tianjin.
China has bristled at American criticism on issues from human rights to its territorial ambitions and said repeatedly that the US cannot expect cooperation while also suppressing China’s development, a charge Sherman denied.
Sherman, who was sworn in in April, described the meetings as another step in the process of trying to work through critical issues with China.
“We will see whether, in fact, there’s follow up and we are able to move another step,” she said. “There’s no way to know in the early stages of building this relationship whether we will get to all the places that we hoped for.”