Chinese diplomat urges US to get ties back on right track

China urges the United States to honor its commitment to abide by the one-China principle, properly handle issues related to the Taiwan question and take real actions to uphold the overall development of bilateral ties as well as cross-Straits stability, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday.

During a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, reiterated that the Taiwan question matters to China's sovereignty, its territorial integrity and its core interests.

Yang urged Washington to work with Beijing to move bilateral ties back onto the right track based on the consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden during their phone talks in February.

Dialogue and cooperation should be the mainstay of China-US relations, he said, adding that cooperation should be based on mutual benefit, and their respective concerns should be addressed in a balanced manner.

China remains committed to developing relations with the US on the basis of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, Yang said, and in the meantime, it will resolutely safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests.

Yang pointed out that recent signs indicate that some anti-China forces are trying to stir up one after another sinister waves to smear China under the excuse of the so-called Xinjiang and Hong Kong-related issues, and they are doomed to failure.

Noting that the issues related to Xinjiang and Hong Kong concern China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and involve China's core interests, Yang urged the US side to respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, not to interfere in China's internal affairs under any pretext, and not to damage China's core interests in any way.

The issues related to Xinjiang are not so-called human rights or religion issues, Yang stressed.

Seeing violent and terrorist incidents on the rise in Xinjiang, the Chinese government took resolute actions to safeguard public safety, Yang said, adding that the Chinese moves are totally justified.

The US side has fabricated various lies about Xinjiang in an attempt to sabotage the stability and unity in Xinjiang, which confuse right and wrong and are extremely absurd. China is firmly opposed to such actions, Yang said.

Yang said Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, and Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs.

The aim of improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is to safeguard the constitutional order of the HKSAR as defined in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Basic Law of the HKSAR, and ensure that "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with patriots as the mainstay, he said.

It is a common practice in the world to make strict requirements on the patriotic stance and political qualifications of those who govern, Yang said, adding that those clamoring for "Hong Kong independence" are not eligible to participate in the administration of Hong Kong and must be punished by the national security law in Hong Kong.

He stressed that there is only one system and order in the world, which is the international system with the United Nations at the core and the international order underpinned by international law, instead of the so-called system and order preached by a small minority of countries.

There is only one set of rules, which are the basic norms of international relations governed by the purpose and principles of the UN Charter, instead of so-called rules formulated by a small minority of countries, Yang added.

There is only one kind of multilateralism, which is based on the purpose and principles of the UN Charter as well as international law, and in line with that, countries treat each other as equals for win-win cooperation, he said, adding that true multilateralism should not be based on the interests of "small circles" or "group politics".

Highlighting that peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom are the shared values of all humankind, Yang said that respecting sovereignty is the prerequisite of realizing human rights. He urged the US to resolve its own human rights violations, and not to grossly interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

Yang also expressed serious concerns over some US individuals fabricating and spreading the absurd story that a Wuhan lab leaked the COVID-19 virus. He said China has been actively participating in and supporting international cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, and resolutely opposes any vicious move to smear it or shift blame toward it.

China urges the US to respect the facts and science, avoid politicizing virus origin tracing, and remain focused on international cooperation in fighting the pandemic, Yang said.

He reiterated that the Chinese people, led by the CPC, will firmly walk along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics to build China into a more prosperous country and rejuvenate the Chinese nation.

The phone conversation took place after a series of engagements between Chinese and US officials in the past weeks, including a telephone conversation between Chinese and US commerce ministers on Thursday. It also took place after three US senators visited Taiwan on June 6, which was strongly opposed by Beijing.

Blinken said the recent China-US engagement is beneficial to bilateral ties and Washington looks forward to more engagement and exchanges with Beijing at various levels.

The US pursues the one-China policy and remains committed to abiding by the three China-US joint communiques, he said, adding that his country wants to maintain communication and coordination with China on major international and regional issues.