State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday said China is ready to work with the United States to bring bilateral relations back on the right track.

While meeting the press on the sidelines of the annual "two sessions" of the country's top legislature and political advisory body, Wang said the two sides should follow through on the outcomes of the phone conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joseph R. Biden on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year last month, and set bilateral relations on a new path of healthy and steady growth.

Healthy competition

As two countries with different social systems, China and the United States naturally have differences and disagreements, Wang said at the press conference.

"What matters most is to manage them effectively through candid communication to prevent strategic miscalculation and avoid conflict and confrontation," he said.

It is not surprising that there is competition between China and the United States as their interests are intertwined, but the two sides should have healthy competition on the basis of fairness and equity, Wang said.

China hopes that the United States will meet China halfway and remove all its unreasonable restrictions on bilateral cooperation as early as possible, and not create new obstacles, he said.

At the press conference, Wang gave examples of fields where the two countries can pursue collaboration, including anti-pandemic fight, economic recovery and climate change.

China welcomes U.S. return to the Paris Agreement and expects that the United States will shoulder its responsibility and make its due contribution.

"We hope that renewed China-U.S. cooperation on climate change will bring positive 'climate change' to the bilateral relations," Wang said.

Red line

The one-China principle is a "red line" that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations, Wang said, adding that the Chinese government will never compromise on the Taiwan question.

China hopes that the new U.S. administration will make a "clear departure" from its predecessor's "dangerous practice" on Taiwan.

"We hope the new U.S. administration will appreciate the great sensitivity of the Taiwan question, and will abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques," Wang said.

Wang said China will never accept groundless allegation and vilification and will never allow its core interests to be violated.

"The Chinese people are in the best position to tell whether China is doing a good job. The Chinese people can best decide what is the right thing for China to do," he said.

Iran nuclear deal

China urges the United States to demonstrate good faith and return to the Iran nuclear deal at an early date, Wang said.

The U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the deal and its continued maximum pressure on Iran led to the growing tensions in the region, he said.

Given that the new U.S. administration has expressed willingness to return to the deal, China calls on the U.S. side to demonstrate sincerity and promptly take actions, including lifting illegal unilateral sanctions and the long-arm jurisdiction over third-party entities and individuals, Wang said.

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