According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on May 31, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi was invited to deliver a video speech at the seminar on “Kissinger and China-US Relations”.
Wang Yi appreciated the long-term concern and support for the development of China-US relations by friendly people from all walks of life in the US represented by Kissinger. He said that half a century ago, Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, President Nixon, Dr. Kissinger and other leaders of the older generation of China and the US With extraordinary foresight, political courage and diplomatic wisdom, he broke the ice of isolation and confrontation between the two countries, realized the “handshake across the Pacific Ocean” that shocked the world, and opened a new chapter in China-US relations. For more than 50 years, Dr. Kissinger has visited China for nearly 100 times, and has promoted successive U.S. governments to pursue a positive China policy and devoted himself to the development of Sino-U.S. relations, which has become one of the most magnificent chapters in his diplomatic career.
Wang Yi said that building a world that is interconnected, diverse, inclusive, safe and shared is a responsibility and obligation that China and the United States must undertake. Whether China and the US can handle their relations well is the question of the century that both China and the US must answer. Advocating the “failure of engagement” between China and the United States, exaggerating “the uselessness of dialogue”, and claiming that “win-win cooperation” is just a political slogan, these arguments neither respect history nor conform to the facts.
Wang Yi pointed out that China-US relations are encountering more and more challenges, the historical narrative of China-US relations has been artificially distorted, and the development direction is in danger of being further led astray. If the U.S. keeps going backwards on the Taiwan issue, it will fundamentally undermine the peace across the Taiwan Strait, and it will eventually bring harm to itself. Sino-US relations cannot deteriorate any further. We must make the right choice: we must correct our strategic understanding and abandon the Cold War mentality; we must consolidate the political foundation and properly manage differences; we must jump out of the logic of competition and increase exchanges and cooperation.
Wang Yi said that the current atmosphere of China-US relations is very abnormal, and the extreme anxiety of the US side is totally unnecessary. China’s overriding task is to concentrate on developing itself and satisfy the people’s yearning for a better life. If the U.S. blindly defines Sino-U.S. relations with great power competition and takes “you lose, I win” as a policy goal, it will only push China and the U.S. into confrontation and conflict, and push the world into division and turmoil.
Wang Yi said that Dr. Kissinger once said that there should be a “philosophy of diplomacy” instead of just treating diplomacy as an “administrative matter”. In an era of turbulence and change, mankind needs a new philosophy of diplomacy featuring peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. It is hoped that people of insight in the United States will no longer hesitate and take action to continuously inject positive energy into Sino-US relations; I hope that people from all walks of life in China and the United States will no longer remain silent and speak out actively, bringing new hope to the people of the two countries.
The seminar “Kissinger and China-US Relations” was held online by the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of the 99th birthday of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. The meeting reviewed Kissinger’s positive efforts to promote the development of Sino-US relations, and discussed issues of Sino-US relations.