Hoping to bring US-China relations back to "right track": Chinese Foreign Ministry
Nov 14, 2022
Beijing [China], November 14 : Ahead of the highly anticipated face-to-face between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Monday expressed hope that the relations between both countries will return to the "right track of healthy and stable development", CNN reported.
US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be meeting at The Mulia, a luxury beachside hotel on Nusa Dua bay in Bali.
Calling its policy and position toward the United States "consistent and clear", Mao Ning hoped that "US and China would move in the same direction, properly manage differences, promote mutually beneficial cooperation, avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations, and promote the return of China-US relations to the right track of healthy and stable development," CNN reported.
"We are committed to achieving mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation with the United States, while firmly defending our own sovereignty, security, and development interests," a foreign ministry spokesperson added.
She further said that China had always viewed and developed Sino-US relations in accordance with the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation proposed by President Xi Jinping, and advocated promoting and building the right way for China and the United States to get along in the new era, according to CNN.
Even President Biden has been preparing extensively for his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi, according to advisors, including running through particular scenarios that could arise during the talks.
Earlier, Biden on Sunday said even though the US would keep speaking out on China's dubious human rights record, its line of communication with the country would stay open to prevent conflict, reported Al Jazeera.
"I know him well, he knows me, We've just got to figure out where the red lines are and what are the most important things to each of us, going into the next two years," Al Jazeera quoted Biden as saying while addressing the East Asia Summit in Cambodia.
Many US officials have expressed their displeasure over low-level Chinese officials being allegedly unable or unwilling to speak on behalf of Xi. They voiced hope that a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders will bring some progress on areas of mutual concern and a shared understanding of each other's limitations.
Xi's government also has been criticizing the Biden administration over its stand towards Taiwan, which it says tantamounts to undermining China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Xi has even claimed Washington's actions as an attempt to stifle Beijing as it tries to overtake the US as the world's.
According to a US-based publication, Biden and Xi last met in person during the Obama administration and US' ties with China have since slumped to their lowest level in decades, most notably since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's August trip to Taiwan, the self-governed democratic island that Beijing claims to be its territory.
Biden's ongoing Asia tour began with a visit to Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt where the COP27 is meeting currently. His next stop is Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia which is currently hosting the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Biden may assure members about the American commitment to a rules-based order in the South China Sea though that may be unpalatable to the Chinese. He will then proceed to Bali, Indonesia for the G20 meeting where he will call on Xi.