Chinese Foreign Minister Describes Talks with His American Counterpart as "Pragmatic and Constructive"

Beijing, July 22 (KUNA) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described talks he held with his American counterpart Marco Rubio in Manila on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting today, Wednesday, as “pragmatic, positive, and constructive.” Xinhua News Agency quoted Wang Yi as saying that both sides agreed to activate the role of political and diplomatic channels and to prepare for high-level exchanges between the two countries in the coming phase, thereby pushing bilateral relations toward significant progress. He also noted that they exchanged views on international and regional issues of mutual concern. He stressed the need for China and the United States to work together to overcome obstacles and translate the consensus between the two presidents into concrete actions across all fields, thereby enhancing global peace and stability. He pointed out that the two presidents had agreed during their historic summit in Beijing last May to build constructive China-US relations based on strategic stability, describing this as “a major step forward” achieved by the two countries on the path toward peaceful coexistence. The Chinese foreign minister addressed his country’s stance toward a series of “negative” statements and measures recently taken by Washington, urging the United States to respect Beijing’s core interests, adhere to the “One China” principle, manage differences, and address “China’s legitimate concerns.” The US foreign minister, in remarks following the meeting, anticipated that disagreements between the two countries would continue “in the near future,” emphasizing that the task for both nations is to manage these differences, ensure they do not get out of control, and work to address them through continued communication. He clarified that both sides discussed the need to identify areas for cooperation, paving the way for a visit that he described as “very positive,” which Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to make to Washington in September. (End) S.L.Q./T.M.A.