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China’s US envoy Qin Gang strikes conciliatory note on arrival in Washington
- The new ambassador invokes Kissinger’s 1971 visit to China and says he will strive for peaceful coexistence, despite challenges
- In a sign of how far ties have deteriorated, no US diplomats were on hand to welcome Qin on his arrival
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China’s new ambassador to the United States Qin Gang said he would endeavour to bring the deeply fraught relationship between the two countries under control and strive for peaceful coexistence, despite unprecedented “risks and challenges”.
Speaking at his first media event, just hours after he arrived in Washington on Wednesday, Qin said relations were at a critical juncture – comparable to the days before former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger’s secret, groundbreaking trip to Beijing in 1971.
In the background, there was more squabbling between Chinese and US diplomats this week during deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman’s visit to Tianjin, with each side blaming the other for instigating tensions and raising demands without making any concessions.
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But Qin nevertheless sounded a hopeful note, hailing Kissinger’s trailblazing visit and the history-changing US-China rapprochement which followed, and calling for an effort to rebuild trust and realise “great opportunities and potential”, according to a transcript posted on the embassy website.
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“I believe that the door of China-US relations, which is already open, cannot be closed. This is the trend of the world, the call of the times, and the will of the people,” he said.
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