China: State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi

well greetings around the world from the asia society and we bring you this broadcast um to the asian society family our friends and supporters from around the world uh and this is being broadcast on asia society platforms and through our website the asia society is a global family and we're joined tonight by our centers in washington in houston in los angeles and in san francisco as well as our centers around the world in tokyo in seoul in hong kong manila sydney melbourne of course in mumbai and zurich and there are many others who are joining this gathering as well this is a special event and we are honored to have with us the foreign minister of the people's republic of china wang yi who is also of course a respected member of the state council of china and we're also joined by uh ambassador tuitian kai the ambassador of the people's republic of china to the united states of america let me make just a few remarks of welcome in chinese and then uh let me outline uh our context for this evening's uh presentation by the foreign minister uh as someone who has been a student of u.s china relations for the last 40 years i'd like to say that it gives me no pleasure to point out that the current state of the u.s china relationship is probably the worst that we've seen in nearly half a century and that's despite all the twists and turns that we've seen over those decades many positive things have been achieved over 50 years but of course new problems and new difficulties have arisen when we look to the future there will be a long debate about why the u.s china relationship has ended up in the difficulties which it currently faces there will be a long debate about what china has done that is different what america has done that is different and how strategic circumstances more generally have changed the key challenge however for the future is what will we do for this extraordinary decade of the 2020s which lies ahead of us broadly speaking i see several possible scenarios one sees china work within the framework of the international rules based order that we've been developing together since 1945. the second is that as china's power grows that the rest of the world including the united states increasingly adjusts to an order which is much more accommodating of chinese interests and values and where china's leadership becomes more apparent there's a third scenario too which is through international machinery like the g20 and like other bodies through the united nations china and the united states work collaboratively with other countries to ensure that the order is stable accommodates our interests and our values and still preserves the fundamental pres principles of open societies of open trade and of course of open systems these i think are the scenarios which lie before us of course some of our colleagues including graham allison from harvard university who also joins us in the audience this evening have outlined a further scenario and that is that in fact we may be according to thucydides trap destined for war um i don't believe that is so but graham's analysis is the sobering one and he points to the structural tensions between established powers and rising powers and whether in fact it creates a near inevitable dynamic which pushes them towards crisis conflict and war that's the sobering alternative to the other scenarios i just outlined in fact when i was working with graham at harvard university five years or so ago before coming to the asia society i remember working on a paper entitled constructive realism a set of principles about how we could govern the future of the u.s china relationship in the future with areas of red lines areas of strategic competition in areas of strategic cooperation it's good to see some of those principles now alive in some other thinking around the world at present as we embark upon this new period of the biden administration and finally before turning to minister wang that the former prime minister of australia would be remiss of me not to mention uh the impact of u.s china relations on third countries around the world u.s allies like japan and the republic of korea but also australia itself which now finds itself very much in the firing line of tensions in the bilateral relationship and the question which these countries have is how do we navigate the shoals of all of this for the future and particularly in the australian case how do we take the temperature down and navigate a creative and constructive way through current tensions so i'm very pleased tonight that we have to tonight in australia today in america and earlier this evening in beijing given we are working in multiple time zones uh i'm delighted that we have this opportunity to hear from the man himself wang the foreign minister of the people's republic of china foreign minister wang is a man of enormous diplomatic experience he has traveled the world extensively since becoming chinese foreign minister and prior to that as a professional chinese diplomat has extensive experience in many countries around the world and most particularly in japan so foreign minister you are a welcome guest here at the asia society we welcome you to address this our asia society family and community around the world over to you minister i thank you very much mr kevin wright you are a household name in china a famous international active advocate and you have made important contribution to friendship and cooperation between china and australia i want to congratulate you on the fact that you are going to be the president of asia society actually asian society is not unfamiliar to me i received the former president and many friends from asia society in beijing we engaged in in-depth and open discussions on many occasions i really feel that as long as we engage in face-to-face discussions we can reach a lot of consensus on wide ranging issues there are no unsurmountable difficulties or obstacles between us under your stewardship we hope that asia society will continue to care for and support the growth of china-u.s relations and we will be happy to engage friends of asia society for discussions and conversations to build deeper understanding well the outgoing 2020 has witnessed the certain onslaught of kovac 19 a pandemic that has upended the world in almost all aspects countries have come to realize more than ever that global challenge requires enhanced international coordination and cooperation and that major countries in particular should lead by example however as you have mentioned in your opening remarks china-u.s relations have spiraled down to the lowest level since the establishment of diplomatic ties 41 years ago this is not something that we would like to see because clearly it is not an interest of the chinese and american peoples nor is it helpful when global efforts are needed to overcome the difficulties in retrospect or 2020 might have witnessed the greatest damage to the international order and international relations among many others we see power politics jeopardizing international stability as arbiter interference in others internal affairs and sanctions and unilateral sanctions have become the biggest destabilizing factor to regional and global security we see protectionism jeopardizing international trade as backlash against globalization is gaining momentum there are more barriers impeding trade and investment and global industrial and supply chains are on the cusp of breakdown we see unilateralism jeopardizing international cooperation the go it alone approach and walking away from international commitment have fractured and crippled the international system and have dragged on international efforts by all countries against global challenges and we see mccarthyism researching and jeopardizing normal international exchanges those with radical and entrenched political bias seek to label and stigmatize open and lawful political parties and institutions of other countries and use ideology ideology to disrupt or even sever normal international engagement aiming at starting a new cold war and forming a new iron curtain while these risks and challenges facing us are unprecedented china and the united states are the two largest economies we are permanent members of the u.n security council and we are the largest developing and developed country respectively we we always believe that what we should do is to form the right perception about one another act in line with the trend of the times and heed the aspirations of the international community we need to step up to our responsible to our responsibilities as major countries and at the same time work together with other countries to overcome difficulties meet challenges and pursue development i know all of you follow china's diplomacy closely and the style and future direction of which has been the subject of ongoing discussions what i would like to undermine is that china follows an independent foreign policy of peace and seeks to engage other countries for friendship and cooperation on the basis of the five principles of peaceful coexistence china is committed to bringing happiness to the chinese people and contributing to progress of humanity and seeks to play a constructive role for world peace and development i would like to say it again that china has no intention to compete for hegemony we never interfere in others internal affairs we don't export our system or model not in the least do we seek spheres of influence that's what we did in the past that's what we are and going to do in the future china's diplomacy what are the focus and priorities first of all china's diplomacy is for the development of the nation but as china remains a developing country as president xi jinping has said the chinese people's aspiration for better life is the goal that we endeavor toward with relentless efforts all rural air residents living under the current poverty line and all designated counties have shed off poverty this year this means that extreme poverty is eliminated for the first time in china's history of several thousand years we are proud of such achievement and what we have achieved is a big contribution to poverty reduction efforts of all humanity at the same time we are super minded about a long journey ahead if we are to lock in the gains against poverty and bring prosperity to all the people or china's diplomacy which starts at home naturally should help promote the overall development of the country and the new development paradigm so the first priority of china's diplomacy is to serve sustainable development of the nation second chinese diplomacy is for win-win outcome it's not part of the chinese culture to seek our own development or put out interests above others nor is it our philosophy to play the zero-sum game and be the winner that takes all what we are committed to is a win-win strategy of opening up to ensure that all countries will come out as winners the experience of china's 40 plus years of reform and opening up is a strong testament to that all the businesses and countries that have worked together with china have achieved shared development and prosperity this is what we believe will make diplomacy more sustainable and more popular we will further open up only broader deeper and with higher standards and we will share opportunities and benefits with all countries for win-win and greater development china's diplomacy is for equity having experienced great humiliation in history china truly understands how important equity is we believe that countries irrespective of their size and strength are all equal members of the international community the big and strong must not bully the small and weak we believe that all countries enjoy equal rights to development developed countries have achieved development we congratulate developed countries on that and then developed countries need to help developing countries increase the capacity for self-development and developing countries should not be kept forever at the lower end of the industrial and value chains we believe that global affairs should be handled by all countries through consultation and that international rules should be made by all countries on an equal footing there should be more democracy in international relations well china state stays committed to developing a relationship based on coordination cooperation and stability with the united states under the principle of no conflict no confrontation mutual respect and win-win cooperation and china has been working in good faith to that goal regrettably however when we turn on tvs read newspapers and access new media we would often see senior u.s officials pointing fingers at china and there is no evidence to support their accusations they are merely irresponsible presumption of guilt and emotional lashing out the fundamental reason behind all this is that some u.s politicians have um strategic miscalculations about china first they choose to ignore the vast common interest and room for cooperation between the two countries and insist that china is a main threat this is like misaligning the first button of the clothes they get things wrong at the very beginning the ensuing whole of government strategy that mobilizes all resources available to take on china is going in a wrong direction china is not a threat to to the united states was not is not and will not be a threat to the united states second out of ideological bias they seek to defame the communist party of china the cpc as the constitutionally recognized ruling party of china has a close bond and a shared future with the chinese people an attack on the cpc is an attack on the 1.4 billion chinese people so it is not going to succeed it is doomed to fail third they hope that maximum pressure will make china give in china was once bullied by western powers but those days are long gone power public politics will only get the chinese people to be more resolved in the response and fourth they attempt to build an international coalition against china but this is the age of globalization and the interests of all countries are so intertwined that the overwhelming majority of them do not want to take sides let alone being forced into confrontation with china facts have proved and will continue to prove that these attempts will lead nowhere and find no support because they deny the fruitful cooperation between china and the united states over the past 40 plus years of diplomatic engagement write off decades of efforts by the good chinese and americans to grow this relationship and dismiss the ardent hope of the international community for peaceful coexistence between china and the united states this grave difficult situation in china-u.s relations is not something we want to see the two sides should learn from the ups and downs since the establishment of diplomatic relations in particular it is important that the united states policy toward china return to objectivity and sensibility as early as possible i wish to stress that china's policy toward the united states is always stable and consistent we always always believe that with a deeply interwoven interest between the two countries neither can do without the other remodel the other or replace the other the bilateral relationship is no zero-sum game and the success of one does not have to entail the others failure well china-u.s cooperation can make great things happen for the two countries and the entire world china-u.s confrontation would definitely spell disaster for not only the two countries but also humanity as a whole the giant vessel of china-u.s relationship carries not only the well-being of the 1.7 billion chinese americans but also the interests of the over 7 billion people of the world i believe we all agree that the time has come to decide the future course of this giant vessel as president xi jinping wrote in his congratulatory message to president-elect joe biden it is hoped that the two sides will work together in the spirit of no conflict no confrontation mutual respect and willing cooperation focus on cooperation manage differences move forward chinese relations in a sound and steady manner and together with other countries and the international community advanced the noble cause of world peace and development this is how we see our relationship and what we expect of the relationship i hope that the u.s side will join us on the basis of mutual respect through dialogue and consultation and by way of deepening our common interest and enhancing the support by the people to rebuild the strategic framework for the healthy and steady growth of china-us relations this i believe is also what ambassador swetian kai shared with friends in washington dc in my video discussion last week with friends from the u.s china business council i talked about the importance for china and the united states to restart dialogue return bilateral relations to the right track and rebuild mutual trust we hope that we will expand cooperation manage differences through dialogue we have noted the four priorities laid out by president-elect joe biden we believe that at least three covet response economic recovery and climate change provide space for cooperation between our two countries and the most pressing task at the moment is to jointly tackle the pandemic we in china stand ready to continue to do what we can to support the yes as needed i don't know whether all of you are aware that china has provided over 40 billion face masks to the united states that is on average every american citizen gets over 100 face masks made in china the two countries could also strengthen cooperation diagnostic and therapeutic experience pp production and vaccine research manufacturing distribution we could also leverage our respective strengths to support coveted response in certain countries and contribute to global community of health for all climate change is another important area of cooperation chinese steadfast in following the new development philosophy and building an ecological civilization we are committed to achieve green low carbon and sustainable development to this end we will faithfully implement the paris agreement on climate to fulfill our responsibility for future generations and our obligations to the international community at the climate ambition summit on december 12th president xi jinping announced chinese objectives and policy measures to scale up its nationally determined contributions we have auto noted that president-elect joe biden had pledged to bring the us back to the paris agreement after taking office we welcome more active actions from the u.s side to this end china and the u.s can come together again to facilitate international cooperation on climate change and make our due contributions as the two largest economies china and the united states need to strengthen macroeconomic dialogue and china is ready to do so to coordinate our policies and contribute to global growth and financial stability that said we in china never shy away from our differences our stance is that the two sides should manage constructively the prominent and important issues based on a right perception of each other first on ideological issues we hope both sides will respect each other's choice of system and development path over four decades ago leaders of china and the u.s made the handshake across the vast pacific fundamentally it was because both countries recognize the importance of mutual respect and seeking common ground while putting aside differences the goal of china-u.s engagement is not to mold the other in one's own image still less to defeat the other side but to seek and expand convergent interests both chinese and american systems are chosen by their people and the systems are deeply rooted in their respective historical and cultural traditions if the u.s china policy were to remodel or even subvert china it would not be achievable it would be mission impossible and it leads nowhere the right approach is to respect each other's political system and development path continue to maintain peaceful coexistence and promote win-win cooperation second on issues concerning national sovereignty and territorial integrity we need to commit to the international are all china's internal affairs and of course involve china's core interests be it the u.n charter or under the three binding china u.s joint communiques none of these issues shall be subjected for interference some politicians have fabricated too much false information about xinjiang tibet and the executive branch and congress have on this basis exercised law nom jurisdiction on chinese businesses and individuals such moves seriously violate international law and defies international justice and conscience as an independent sovereign state china naturally has to respond we shall not allow the law of the jungle to govern our world again at the same time for our foreign friends who truly care about china and wish to know more about xinjiang tibet and other parts of china we are always ready to share with them the facts what is truly happening in china we welcome you all of you joining us through video link today from various countries to visit china including the two autonomous regions at your convenience there you will see firsthand as that you is different from what you hear and see in the news you will see a xinjiang tibet that enjoys social progress ethnic harmony freedom of religious belief and a vibrant economy third on trade issues we need to replace confrontation and sanctions with dialogue and consultation china-u.s trade is mutually beneficial in nature what drives trade is market demand not imposed deals there are no winners in trade wars what has happened proves that pressuring others with tariffs would only boomerang and would only hurt oneself in the end the two sides need to remove man-made barriers and instill positive expectations for the sound development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation let me stress here that the chinese market will continue to grow and expect it to become the largest and most vibrant in the world this means china can and need to buy more products with active demand in the chinese market from the united states and it is just a matter of time before the trade imbalance is eased as for the concern of structural issues let me say that china is firmly advancing our reform according to our reform timeline and at present we are firmly advancing supply-side structural reform in the meantime china is implementing in good faith the common understanding in the phase one trade agreement in this respect china has set a clear goal of building a new system of open economy of higher standards and in china we have taken domestic reform into more sophisticated fields of institutions and rules china's reform does not stop at policies as time passes the legitimate concerns expressed by various parties will be properly resolved because first and foremost resolving such concerns meets china's needs of building a modern system we urge the u.s side to stop overstretching the notion of national security stop the arbitrary suppression of chinese companies just in recent days the executive branch of the us administration has been expanding the list of sanctions against chinese companies this is unacceptable we hope the u.s side will take a sober-minded approach and provide an open fair and non-discriminatory environment for chinese businesses and investors fourth on maritime issues we need to strive to turn frictions into cooperation i believe this is totally achievable because for one thing there has never been problem with the freedom of navigation or overflight in the south china sea there has never been a single instance where normal navigational overflight was impeded china's position is crystal clear we will continue to work with other countries to maintain the freedom of navigation overflight under international law china will speed up consultations with rcm countries toward a code of conduct in the south china sea coc which will regulate behaviors on the sea and underline the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes the conclusion of the coc will be compatible with universally recognized international laws including on clause it will not affect legitimate and lawful maritime rights and interests of countries outside this region because coc is not worked out by china alone it will be an agreement by 11 countries working together the chinese government is always open to candid communication dialogue on maritime issues with the u.s side this door remains open chinese and u.s experts and scholars may also engage in in-depth discussions on the applicability technicality of on class and other international laws and rules to avoid misunderstanding and misjudgment china and the united states in maintaining freedom of navigation protecting the marine environment and harnessing marine resources share converging interests the two sides can well explore possibilities of cooperation in those areas engage in positive interactions or maritime issues and shape positive interactions and add positive elements to china-u.s relations fifth on people-to-people exchange we need to remove restrictions as soon as possible friendship between our peoples provide the social foundation for china-u.s relations people with vision in both countries should jointly reject the attempts to disrupt equality people contact and create a cultural decoupling between the two countries we need to work together to encourage and support people from all sectors to increase exchanges and mutual understanding to view all chinese students experts and scholars in the us as spy suspects actually says more about the mentality of the accusers and their lack of confidence china has no intention to pick a fight with the united states either in diplomacy media or any other field it is important that people with vision in both countries jointly oppose stigmatizing people to people exchanging politicizing normal contact and remove stumbling blocks to such contact and exchange friends as long as the two countries act with a sense of responsibility to history and humanity bear in mind the fundamental interests of the two peoples and the whole world and stay committed to principles of mutual respect equality seeking common ground while shelving differences and win-win cooperation the giant vessel of china-u.s relations will be able to stay on the right course steer clear of hidden shoals and rocks navigate through the counter currents and stormy waves and achieve the goal of mutual benefit and all win for the world i've made a quite lengthy speech thank you for your patience thank you for listening i'm sure you have a lot of views to share with me i would like to hear your views and answer your questions thank you well thank you very much um foreign minister wang um we have just heard from the foreign minister a very comprehensive speech um outlining china's view on the potentiality for the future of the bilateral relationship with the united states under the new biden administration the foreign minister uh has made uh great reference to the great ship of um u.s china relations i have this mental picture of this enormous ocean liner out on out on the seas and sometimes the waves are like this and sometimes you look for where the lifeboats are but still this great ocean liner is a float that is the important thing the second uh visual metaphor which the foreign minister used which i thought was particularly interesting was it affects not just the future of the 1.7 billion passengers on board the ocean liner but the flotilla of smaller ships who are also in the convoy and that is the rest of the world uh the other five billion of us who have an interest in what you 1.7 billion actually do so i think um foreign minister it's a very good analogy it's been a wide-ranging speech and we heard from the foreign minister his description of china's worldview and its overall approach to diplomacy within that we also heard from the foreign minister his particular view of the united states both the challenges and the opportunities i noted in particular what the minister said about the stated priorities of the incoming biden administration and he referred to the possibility of collaboration in three of the four priority areas which the incoming president has identified foreign minister wang spoke in particular about the potential for pandemic collaboration i think from the perspective of the rest of the world it would be a wonderful thing if the vaccine could be treated not as an issue of geopolitics but could be treated as an issue of being a global common good and that for all the people of the world all seven billion people in the world that the united states and china could collaborate to ensure that we have global distribution of the vaccines from various countries which are now available so i would commend that as an approach the foreign minister also spoke about president biden's uh priority on climate change he's right to identify that as a priority those of us who know the vice president and those around him know that this is not a ephemeral concern it is a fundamental concern of the incoming administration and so xi jinping's statement recently about china achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 and what foreign minister wang just mentioned in terms of china's adjustment of its nationally determined commitment for the decade ahead these are important and again i think from the perspective of the of others around the world the europeans the japanese and those who want a good outcome from paris for the planet we would commend both of you to put all your energy into this because our kids and our grandkids depend on it a foreign minister you also spoke candidly about the difficulties that you see emerging uh with the u.s china relationship and how this needs to be tackled with canada and with uh vigor you spoke about the radically different views on human rights in both xinjiang and and tibet this will require greater and more direct engagement between the two sides and all sides on that because there are quite different views um on the question of trade um all of us in the asia pacific region want to see more free trade not more protectionism we welcome china's membership of arsep we would like to see america join rcep i would also like to see both america and china join the tpp the thing about trade is if we have a good system for regulating the rules for the world trade organization then it is good for all countries it it lifts it raises all boats and so this could become an area of genuine collaboration rather than of continuing conflict with the united states and finally on the other areas that you mentioned in terms of maritime disputes and maritime confrontation as opposed to collaboration uh foreign minister as you know as an experienced diplomat and ambassador tuei this will be the hardest question to resolve because the perception gap is so huge but finding a way of stabilizing uh what can sometimes be dangerous uh confrontation on the skies and on the seas of the south china sea and in and around taiwan is important for the re-stabilization of the relationship finally minister your comment about chinese students around the world it is a view which i should say personally i completely share we should be opening the doors wider to each other's students not closing doors to them and other matters of state concern can be attended to by the agencies of state responsible for those areas but we have a huge mutual interest around the world in our students being welcome in all countries chinese students in the united states and around the world and foreign students in china because this creates the people-to-people building blocks for the long-term future and i hope i honestly hope we can turn that corner in the period ahead so that we see no evidence of any racism or racial prejudice or the term you used before mccarthyism in any form in any part of the world towards chinese students or frankly towards foreign students as they would experience sometimes even in china to conclude foreign minister wang thank you so much for this comprehensive presentation you spoke eloquently about the need to rebuild a strategic framework for the u.s china relationship that framework needs early attention between both sides if we're going to have strategic competition between the united states and china at least maybe managed strategic competition within a common framework which also provides opportunity for massive areas of cooperation at the same time the alternative to not having such a framework minister you also referred to you spoke before about the danger of in fact a new iron curtain those were stark words um i don't think that's what china wants i don't believe that's what our people united states or the government united states wants either but it require all of our effort our diplomacy and our good will to make sure that that scenario is avoided the truth is as someone from a third country that's me it's um my judgment is is that both the united states and china will have to change some of their policy positions at present if we are to have a common future and i think the rest of the world will seek to work within that framework as well to conclude also minister i enjoyed your very much your early comments about the fact that face-to-face dialogue once covert makes that possible enables us to solve most problems and i hope soon that that is possible between the united states and china and again once again to put in a pitch for my own country australia face-to-face contact between the chinese government the australian government as well thank you so much minister for these comments uh and for your remarks to us today and we would conclude uh this public program at this point thank you

Channel: Asia Society

Views: 162,309

Rating: 4.3782992 out of 5

Keywords: program, policy, video, asia society new york, us-china relations, aspi, kevin rudd, asia society policy institute

Id: nClZyoM5-Ek

Length: 51min 36sec (3096 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 18 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Magiu5]

Kind of telling how wang yi and top chinese politicians won't pick up direct calls from any liberals but will have 50m talks with Kevin rudd who's not even member of parliament anymore.

You give respect you get it, it doesn't mean aus can't have their own opinions since kevin has many which goes against china's wishes but just don't talk rubbish with lies for your own personal gain

[u/qaveboy]

Crazy but not crazy, in 2020 statesmen just have conversations on YouTube.

[u/thepensiveiguana]

Where in the video does he talk frankly, timestamp please