Wang Yi Delivers a Video Speech at Symposium on 'Dr. Kissinger and China-US Relations'

On May 31, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a video speech at the Symposium on "Dr. Kissinger and China-US Relations" upon invitation.

Wang Yi appreciated the long-term care and support of friends from all walks of life in the United States, represented by Henry Kissinger, for the development of China-US relations. He said that half a century ago, Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, President Richard Nixon, Dr. Henry Kissinger and other elder generation of Chinese and American leaders broke the ice of isolation and confrontation between the two countries with extraordinary foresight, political courage and diplomatic wisdom, and realized the "handshake across the Pacific Ocean" that shook the world, opening a new chapter in China-US relations. Over the past 50 years, Dr. Kissinger has visited China nearly 100 times to promote successive U.S. administrations to pursue a positive policy towards China, and has been committed to developing China-U.S. relations into one of the most magnificent chapters in his diplomatic career.

Wang Yi said that building a world of connectivity, diversity, inclusiveness, security and shared benefits is a responsibility and obligation that China and the United States must undertake. Whether China and the United States can properly handle bilateral relations is the question of the century to which the two countries must provide a good answer. Touting that "the engagement between China and the United States has failed", playing up that "dialogue is useless" and claiming that "win-win cooperation is just a political slogan", these arguments do not respect history and are inconsistent with the facts.

Wang Yi pointed out that China-US relations are encountering more and more challenges, the historical narrative of China-U.S. relations has been artificially distorted, and the development direction is in danger of being further led astray. If the United States continues to turn back the clock of history on the Taiwan question, it will fundamentally undermine peace across the Taiwan Straits and will eventually hurt itself. China-US relations cannot continue to deteriorate. We must make the right choice. We need to correct our strategic perception and abandon the Cold War mentality. We need to consolidate the political foundation and properly manage differences. We need to move forward from the logic of competition and enhance exchanges and cooperation.

Wang Yi said that the current atmosphere of China-US relations is much abnormal, and the high anxiety of the U.S. side is completely unnecessary. China's overriding task is to concentrate on developing itself and meet its people's aspirations for a better life. If the United States keeps defining its relations with China in terms of major power competition and sets its policy goal as "I-win-you-lose", it will only push China and the United States into confrontation and conflict and the world into division and turmoil.

Wang Yi said that Dr. Kissinger once said that we should have a "diplomatic philosophy" and not just take diplomacy as an "administrative matter". In an era of turbulence and transformation, mankind needs a new diplomatic philosophy of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. He hopes that people with insight from the United States will stop hesitating and take action to continuously inject positive energy into China-U.S. relations. He expects that people from all walks of life in China and the United States will no longer remain silent and actively speak up to bring new hopes to the people of the two countries.

The Symposium on "Dr. Kissinger and China-US Relations" was held online by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's 99th birthday. The symposium reviewed Kissinger's active efforts to promote the development of China-U.S. relations and had discussions on China-U.S. relations.