BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Mutual respect is a basic norm governing state-to-state relations and also an important prerequisite for China-U.S. relations, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday.

"No country should fantasize that it can suppress China and maintain good relations with China at the same time," Wang said at a press conference on the sidelines of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress, noting that such two-faced acts are not good for the stability of bilateral relations, or for building mutual trust.

Commenting on the U.S. move to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods using the fentanyl issue as a pretext, Wang said the United States should not return good with evil, or even impose arbitrary tariffs, adding that no responsible major country should do that.

The abuse of fentanyl in the United States is a problem that must be confronted and resolved by the United States itself, he said.

China always takes resolute measures against drug trafficking and manufacturing, and China has put in place the toughest and most comprehensive counternarcotics policies in today's world, Wang said.

As early as in 2019, China scheduled all fentanyl-related substances upon the request of the U.S. side, the first country in the world to do so, he noted.

"China-U.S. business relations are based on two-way and reciprocal interactions. Cooperation will bring about mutual benefit, and China will definitely take countermeasures in response to arbitrary pressure," Wang said.

Citing the Chinese saying "If one's action fails, look for the reason within oneself," he urged the United States to rethink what it has achieved from the tariff and trade wars these years -- Has its trade deficit widened or narrowed? Has its manufacturing become more competitive or less competitive? Has U.S. inflation gone up or down? Has the life of its people got better or worse?

As the world's largest developing and developed countries respectively, China and the United States will stay on this planet for a long time, and they must therefore seek peaceful co-existence, the minister said.

Given the extensive common interests and broad space for cooperation, it is fully possible for China and the United States to become partners helping each other succeed and prosper together, he said.

Wang said that China will stay committed to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation in promoting steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations.

"At the same time, we hope that the U.S. side will listen to the calls of the two peoples, see clearly the trend of the times, take an objective and rational view of China's development, engage proactively with China in practical exchanges, and work together with China to pursue the right way of getting along with each other to the benefit of the two countries and the whole world," he said. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)