Chinese President Xi Jinping had a virtual meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden Tuesday on the direction of China-U.S. relations and on some topics of global importance.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Joe Biden via video link, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)
The following are some highlights of Xi's remarks on China-U.S. cooperation on global issues.
-- A sound and stable China-U.S. relationship is required for advancing the two countries' respective development and for safeguarding a peaceful and stable international environment, including finding effective responses to global challenges such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
-- The most important event in international relations over the past 50 years was the reopening and development of China-U.S. relations, which has benefited the two countries and the whole world. The most important event in international relations in the coming 50 years will be for China and the U.S. to find the right way to get along.
-- China and the U.S. should focus their efforts on shouldering responsibilities of major countries and leading global responses to outstanding challenges. China-U.S. cooperation may not solve all problems, but few problems can be solved without China-U.S. cooperation. The global initiatives China has proposed are all open to the U.S. and we hope the U.S. will do the same.
-- China and the U.S. should focus their efforts on strengthening coordination and cooperation on major international and regional hotspot issues to provide more public goods to the world. The world is not tranquil. China and the U.S. need to work together with the rest of the international community to defend world peace, promote global development, and safeguard fair and equitable international order.
-- Drawing ideological lines or dividing the world into different camps or rival groups will only make the world suffer. The bitter lessons of the Cold War are still fresh in memory. We hope that the U.S. side can match its word of not seeking a "new Cold War" with concrete actions.
-- Democracy is not mass produced with a uniform model or configuration for countries around the world. Whether a country is democratic or not should be left to its own people to decide. Dismissing forms of democracy that are different from one's own is in itself undemocratic.
-- China and the U.S. need to uphold the international system with the UN at its core, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Multilateralism without China-U.S. cooperation is incomplete.
-- On energy security, China and the U.S. need to call on the international community to jointly protect global energy security, strengthen cooperation on natural gas and new energy, and work with other countries to keep global industrial and supply chains safe and stable.
-- On climate change, all countries need to uphold the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and strike a balance between addressing climate change and protecting livelihoods. What the world needs is less finger-pointing or blame game, but more solidarity and cooperation. Words matter, but actions matter even more. Developed countries need to earnestly fulfill their historical responsibilities and due obligations, and maintain policy consistency.
-- On public health, China and the U.S. need to call for the establishment of a cooperation mechanism for global public health and communicable disease prevention and control, and promote further international exchanges and cooperation.
