Washington, Beijing called on to effectively honor consensus as experts eye a positive future

Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with United States President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington on Oct 27, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Revisiting and effectively honoring the consensus reached at the China-US presidents’ meeting in Bali, Indonesia, last year is a much-needed step toward making possible another face-to-face meeting of the two leaders in San Francisco this month, officials and experts said.

Their comments came as Foreign Minister Wang Yi concluded his whirlwind visit to the United States from Oct 26 through Oct 29. Wang had a packed schedule, meeting with US President Joe Biden, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“Both sides agreed to work together toward realizing the San Francisco heads-of-state meeting,” according to a Foreign Ministry news release following Wang’s talks with Sullivan.

During a symposium with US strategic policy watchers on Oct 28, Wang said that “the road to San Francisco” will not be a smooth one and cannot rely on the “autopilot” mode.

For this reason, the two sides should effectively return to what was achieved in Bali, put the consensus of the two heads of state into practice, remove interference and overcome obstacles, Wang said.

The two largest economies in the world have seen tensions simmering this year over topics such as the Taiwan question and Washington’s sanctions targeting China’s semiconductor sector.

Wang’s trip came following visits to China in recent months by senior US officials such as Blinken and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, as well as a bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers.

Speaking with Biden on Oct 27, Wang said, “China attaches importance to the US hope for stabilizing and improving relations with China”.

The one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques are the most important political foundation for the bilateral ties, he added.

Wang said the biggest challenge to China-US relations is “Taiwan independence”, which must be resolutely opposed by taking concrete policies and actions.

Biden elaborated on his position of valuing ties with China, saying that the US is willing to maintain communication with China and jointly address global challenges.

In addition to inviting China to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in San Francisco in mid-November, the US has sent a separate invitation to China for a summit between President Xi Jinping and President Biden at the APEC venue, a Foreign Ministry official who requested anonymity told China Daily on Oct 28.

While Wang’s meeting with Biden lasted for about an hour, more than double what was planned, Wang and Blinken met for more than seven hours over two days and held “comprehensive” and “in-depth” discussions, the official said.

“China and the US are two major countries. We have disagreements; we have differences. At the same time, we also share important common interests and we face challenges that we need to respond to together,” Wang said before meeting Blinken on Oct 26.

During the talks, Wang noted that “the common interests of China and the US are greater than their differences and contradictions”.

Su Xiaohui, deputy director of the China Institute of International Studies’ Department of American Studies, said that “staying true to the reached consensus is a prerequisite for enabling the next presidential meeting and keeping the relations from spiraling out of control”.

She noted that Washington has recently been publicly seeking more communication with Beijing to realize the heads-of-state meeting in San Francisco this month.

“China has not rejected such communications … Washington should work toward the same goal alongside Beijing if it seeks the ties’ early return to being back on track,” Su added.

Su said the great importance that China attaches to the Taiwan question “is a clear reminder that Washington will not see stable ties with Beijing if it blatantly plays the ‘Taiwan card’”.

Wu Xinbo, dean of Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies, said Wang’s visit is “a continuation” of the recent revitalization of high-level interaction between Beijing and Washington. 

“It is very important for both sides and the world to see strengthened contacts and stable relations maintained between China and the US,” he said.

“With its experience of dealing with China over the past three years, the Biden administration has realized that it is unlikely for the US to achieve full-scale economic ‘decoupling’ from China,” Wu added.

The nations’ two-way trade reached a record high of nearly $760 billion in 2022, according to the General Administration of Customs.

At a meeting with US business leaders on Oct 28, Wang said China appreciates that the US business community has overcome difficulties in the ties and remained committed to advancing two-way friendship, and that “the space remains broad” for win-win cooperation.

Separately, the People’s Bank of China, the nation’s central bank, said on Oct 27 that Chinese and US officials had a “professional, pragmatic, candid and constructive” discussion on monetary and financial stability in both countries and other matters of concern at the first meeting of the China-US Financial Working Group.

Other matters discussed at the meeting — a video conference held on Oct 25 — included financial regulation, sustainable finance, anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing, and global financial governance, the central bank said in a statement on Oct 27.

Contact the writers at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn