China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: what Foreign Minister Wang Yi had to say about US relations, Taiwan and wars in Ukraine and Gaza

Wang used his appearance in front of the world’s media to criticise US ‘tactics to suppress China’ and warn against support for Taiwanese independence

He also repeated Beijing’s support for peace efforts in Ukraine and Gaza, and said disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved through negotiation

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pictured during Thursday’s press conference in Beijing. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 12:58pm, 7 Mar 2024Updated: 1:06pm, 7 Mar 2024

Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned that conflict between China and the United States would have “unimaginable consequences” when he faced the world’s media on Thursday.

In a press conference during the “two sessions” – the annual meeting of the national legislature and top political advisory body – he fielded more than 20 questions on global issues ranging from Taiwan and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as well as the relationship between the two superpowers.

Here are some of the key takeaways from his hour-and-half appearance.

US-China relations

Wang told the press conference: “If there is conflict or confrontation between two major countries like the US and China, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

Although he said relations have improved since the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Joe Biden in California last year, Washington’s misperceptions about China still linger and its promises have not been fulfilled.

“The US has been devising various tactics to suppress China,” he said. “If the US says one thing and does another, where is its credibility as a major country? If it gets jittery whenever it hears the word China, where is its confidence as a major country?”

He also responded to recent comments by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken – who told a security conference in Munich that “if you’re not at the table in the international system, you’re going to be on the menu” – by saying Beijing cannot allow “a few big countries to monopolise international affairs”.

Taiwan

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