China-US relations at 'very critical moment': Chinese ambassador

WASHINGTON - China-US relations are at "a very critical moment" and the two countries have to "make the right choices" for the long-term interests of the two peoples and of the world, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai has said.

Cui made the remarks when he was invited to attend the 2020 Aspen Security Forum and had an online interview with Nicholas Burns, executive director of the Aspen Strategy Group, and Andrea Mitchell, chief foreign affairs correspondent of NBC News, on issues related to China-US relations last week.

"We are at a very critical moment for our relations between China and the United States. In a way, we can say it's unprecedented since Dr. Henry Kissinger's visit almost half a century ago," said Cui.

"The choices we're making today will shape not only relations between our two great countries, but also the future of the world. So we have to make the right choices. We have to base ourselves on the long-term interests of our two peoples and of the world," he said.

The Chinese diplomat said the recent allegations against Chinese consulate in Houston or any of Chinese diplomatic missions in the United States are "totally groundless."

"People cannot assume other people are doing all these things just because they are exactly doing the same thing in other countries. This is the problem. Some people are doing all these things in other countries. But now they are blaming other countries doing such things. We never do these," he said.

"It's so bad for the US side to decide to close our consulate in Houston. Based on the principle of reciprocity in diplomacy, we have to respond. But we certainly don't want to have all this from the very beginning. We certainly don't want to see any escalation," the Chinese ambassador said.