Premier Li Keqiang Meets the Press: Full Transcript of Questions and Answers

Bloomberg News: There’s probably not been as much suspicion and competition in the relationship since ties began some 40 years ago. How would you describe the current state of US-China ties? What’s your outlook for the relationship? And also if you could address some specific issues on trade, what kind of deal would China accept, and what kind would China not accept? And on technology, would China force Chinese technology companies to help spy?

Premier Li: I would like to say that China-US relationship has been forging ahead in the past four decades. And a great deal has been accomplished in the growth of this relationship. At the same time, it is true that the relationship has also gone through some twists and turns. But the underlying trend is for the relationship to go forward, and this has not changed. This is because there are broad common interests between China and the US. And the shared interests far outweigh the differences. Steady growth of China-US relationship is in the interest of both countries. It’s also something good for the whole world. So I expect this relationship to continue forging ahead despite twists and turns. And that should be the underlying trend going forward.

While maintaining the overall stability of China-US relations, we have also seen problems and difficulties appear from time to time. In the past weeks and months, one prominent difficulty in China-US relationship lies in their economic and trade friction. The two countries have been in consultation the whole time. Last year, during the G20 Summit, the presidents of the two countries reached important common understandings. Consultations between the two sides are still ongoing. We hope that good outcomes will be delivered out of those consultations, outcomes that work for both sides and are a win-win. I believe that such a result is also what the whole world would like to see.

China and the US, as two large economies, have become closely entwined through years of development and cooperation. It is neither realistic nor possible to decouple these two economies. I believe we need to follow the principles of cooperation instead of confrontation, mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit, to continue to grow China-US relationship, including economic and trade ties, and to deliver concrete benefits to people of both countries. As for the differences and disagreements, we have the confidence that people of the two countries have the wisdom and capability to defuse and manage them properly, and to pursue steady and sound growth of China-US relationship in keeping with the trend of our time.

You asked whether the Chinese government will ask Chinese companies to “spy” on other countries. Let me tell you explicitly that this is not consistent with Chinese law. This is not how China behaves. China did not and will not do that in the future.