Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that to establish understanding and cooperation between China and the United States is “no longer an option… but an imperative” for the world.
Wang also told an audience Friday that “preparations are ready for a giant panda return to California within the year.”
He made the comments during a lavish banquet marking the 45th anniversary of the two countries establishing diplomatic relations in the capital city of Beijing.
The San Diego Zoo repatriated the last of its giant pandas in 2019; the return of Bai Yun and her son Xio Liwu was specified in the zoo’s conservation loan agreement with the People’s Republic of China.
Last November, China’s President Xi Jinping hinted at a return of the pandas to the United States as a goodwill gesture, which the White House said would be welcomed back.
The giant pandas in Memphis, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., returned to China last year, and some feared that China would stop lending pandas to American zoos because of the tensions between the two countries.
But Xi raised hope for California in November when he told an audience in San Francisco that China was ready to continue cooperating with the U.S. on pandas and “do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians.”
Cooperation is the “most correct choice for China and the United States to get along”, Wang said in his keynote speech.
“It can be said that China-U.S. cooperation is no longer an option for the two countries and even for the world, but an imperative that must be seriously addressed,” Wang said.
Wang also said that while both nations were built on different backgrounds, the differences should not lead to confrontation, and that the “big stick of sanctions” should not be used to exercise power or hegemony.
“We must insist on peaceful coexistence, and the most important thing is to effectively manage differences,” Wang said.
Relations between the United States and China have been tense over a range of issues, including national security, global conflicts, trade curbs, climate change and Taiwan.
The diplomatic rift deepened last year as both accused each other of flying high-altitude balloons in their respective air spaces.
This past week, the two superpowers held competing military drills in the South China Sea as run-ins intensify in the region over disputed territory.
Wang said China hopes the U.S. will relax its mindset and “in an attitude of equality and inclusiveness” respect the choices made by the Chinese people and China’s development path, including when defending its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“We are willing to commit ourselves to building a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship on the basis of mutual respect,” he said.
Wang also said China’s development and revitalisation has a “strong endogenous momentum”, which he said meant that China will assume greater responsibility for the world’s peace and development.
“We have no intention of replacing anyone, overriding anyone, and have no intention of seeking hegemony,” he added.
The U.S. and its allies have often said they are concerned about an increasing alignment between China and Russia.
China’s top diplomat travelled to the United States recently as both countries sought to manage their differences to avoid conflict.
Observers fear new turbulence could rattle the relationship as the year begins.
David Meale, U.S Deputy Chief of Mission for the Embassy of the U.S. in Beijing, who attended the event with Wang, said “as we look ahead to 2024, my colleagues in the U.S. Embassy and in our four consulates general look forward to working with our counterparts to continue to responsibly manage our bilateral relationship.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
