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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced on Saturday that Assistant to the U.S. President for National Security Affairs (National Security Advisor) Jake Sullivan will visit China from August 27 to 29 at the invitation of Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, to hold a new round of China-U.S. strategic communication. In a press briefing on Sunday, the leading official of MFA’s Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs gave further information and took questions from the media.
The leading official said that holding strategic communication between the Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office and the National Security Advisor to the U.S. President was an important consensus reached between the Chinese and U.S. presidents at their Bali meeting in November 2022. Since the meeting, Director Wang Yi and NSA Sullivan have held three rounds of strategic communication in Vienna, Malta and Bangkok respectively, all of which were substantive and constructive, and produced good results. Both sides agreed to continue making good use of this channel of strategic communication.
The upcoming visit will also be the first visit to China by a National Security Advisor to the U.S. President after eight years, and the first visit to China by NSA Sullivan. It is an important step for the two sides to implement the common understandings the two presidents reached at their San Francisco meeting. After San Francisco, the diplomatic, financial, law enforcement and climate teams and the militaries of the two sides have maintained communication, and the exchanges between the two peoples have increased. Meanwhile, the United States has kept containing and suppressing China. And China has taken resolute countermeasures. The China-U.S. relationship is still at a critical juncture of being stabilized.
Against this backdrop, Director Wang Yi will have an in-depth exchange of views with NSA Sullivan on China-U.S. relations, sensitive issues, and major international and regional hotspots. The two sides will jointly take stock of the progress made by the two countries in implementing the common understandings of the two presidents in San Francisco, give full play to the 20-plus dialogue and communication mechanisms that have been established or resumed, and continue to discuss the issue of strategic perception and the boundary between national security and economic activities. The Chinese side will focus on raising serious concerns, articulating its position and laying out serious demands on issues related to the Taiwan question, the right to development and China’s strategic security. The Taiwan question is the first and foremost red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations, and “Taiwan independence” is the biggest risk to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The U.S. side must abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and honor its commitment of not supporting “Taiwan independence.” The U.S. side’s continuous arbitrary measures against China in the areas of tariffs, export control, investment review and unilateral sanctions seriously undermine China’s legitimate rights and interests. China demands that the U.S. side stop turning economic and trade issues into political and security issues. As the foundation of the China-U.S. relationship lies in grassroots connections, the United States should work in the same direction with China and take more measures to facilitate the flow of people between the two countries. China will also urge the United States to fulfill its responsibilities as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and play a constructive role for the political settlement of major, salient international and regional issues, not the contrary.
The leading official emphasized that China’s U.S. policy is consistent, which is underpinned by the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation put forward by China. These principles are the lessons learned from the 50-plus years of China-U.S. relations as well as the conflicts between major countries in history. China and the United States should put in a lot of efforts to follow them. China has all along believed that major-country competition is not the solution to the problems facing the United States or the world.
The leading official also took questions from the media. On Ukraine, the official said that China’s position is aboveboard, and it will continue to promote peace talks, work for political settlement and carry out mediation diplomacy. The United States should stop abusing unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, and stop smearing, framing, pressuring and blackmailing China. China will continue to take strong and resolute measures to safeguard its major interests and legitimate rights.
On the South China Sea issue, the leading official emphasized that China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the region have sufficient historical and legal basis, and that countries in the region have full confidence, wisdom and capability to properly handle the issue. Countries outside the region should not do things that provoke confrontation or increase tensions.
The leading official pointed out that on the Middle East issue, China is committed to promoting peace and justice and supports all parties in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests, especially the restoration of the legitimate national rights of Palestine. The immediate priority is that all parties to the conflict must earnestly implement the relevant Security Council resolutions and create conditions for an early comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza. The international community should pool their efforts to this end. It is hoped that the United States will heed the voices of the majority of the international community and adopt a responsible position.
Responding to the U.S.’s unwarranted accusation that China is a threat to the international order, the leading official said that China’s development is an important part of human progress and an inevitable trend in the evolution of history. China does not follow the old path of Western colonization and plundering, nor the wrong path of seeking hegemony with growing strength. Nor does it seek to export its ideology. China is committed to peaceful development and win-win cooperation, and is a firm defender of the U.N.-Centered international system and international order, which contributes to the force for peace and the stabilizing factors in today’s world.