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China’s relations with the United States have reached a “new crossroads” and could return to the right path after a period of “unprecedented difficulties,” senior diplomat Wang Yi said in an interview published on Saturday.
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Relations between the world’s two largest economies are increasingly tense in the context of a series of disputes over trade, human rights and the origins of COVID-19. In December, the United States blacklisted dozens of Chinese companies that it claims have ties to the military, Agerpres reports.
Wang Yi, a state adviser and foreign minister, said in an interview with Xinhua and other state media that recent US policies towards China have affected the interests of both countries and pose enormous dangers to the world.
But now there is an opportunity for the two sides to “open a new window of hope” and begin a new round of dialogue, he said.
The election of Joe Biden as president of the United States is expected to improve relations between Washington and Beijing after four years of tensions that escalated during the Donald Trump administration.
Last month, Wang said he hoped Biden’s election would allow US policy toward China “to return to objectivity and rationality.”
However, President-elect Biden, who will take office on January 20, continued to criticize China for its trade “abuses” and other issues.
Wang did not mention Trump or Biden, but called on the United States to “respect the social system and development path” chosen by China, adding that if Washington “learns its lessons,” the conflicts between the two sides could be resolved.
“We know that some people in the United States are concerned about China’s rapid development, but the most sustainable leadership is to move forward constantly, rather than blocking the development of other countries,” he said.
US politicians have accused China of hiding the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic in the early stages, with a delayed response that allowed the disease to spread much faster and faster.
But Wang Yi says his country has done everything possible to combat the spread of the virus, “sounding the alarm” for the rest of the world.
“I was in a time trial and I was the first to announce the epidemic to the world,” he said. “More and more studies show that the epidemic has probably occurred in many parts of the world,” added Wang Yi.
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