US-China Eminent Persons Forum emphasizes China-US relations

"The current China-US relations are, again, in a critical period" and the relationship should stabilize and improve as soon as possible, Wang Chao, president of the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, said on Friday.

The veteran diplomat made the remarks at the Fifth Meeting of the US-China Eminent Persons Forum in Beijing held by Wang's institute and the US-China Transpacific Foundation.

"As eminent people from all walks of life who have long been concerned about the development of China-US relations, we should take greater responsibility and play a greater role in this," he added.

The forum's fourth meeting was held in New York last November.

Since then "China-US relations have experienced many ups and downs, and have recently shown positive signs of stabilization, with a series of high-level exchanges between the two sides," Wang noted

Wang's institute hosted a bipartisan delegation from the US Senate that began its visit to China on Saturday.

"This is what all of those who care about the development of China-US relations are happy to see. But we also still have a lot of challenges in front of us, and a lot of issues yet to be resolved. Many difficulties remain daunting."

"The real stabilization and improvement of China-US relations requires both sides to show sincerity, express goodwill, make efforts and move to the same goal," he said.

Wang said the key to this is "how the two countries look at each other and how the two countries establish the right way to get along".

Wang referred to the principle of "mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation".

"It is also the right way for the two major countries to get along with each other in the new era," he said.

"We have always believed that China-US relations are the most important bilateral relations in the world. Handling China-US relations well will benefit both countries and the world."

"We always believe that China-US relations will eventually get better, and we believe that the two countries will be able to overcome all difficulties and achieve this," he added.

He said the China-US relations "should not be a zero-sum game in which you lose and I win, you rise and I fall".

"The common interests of China and the US far outweigh their differences, and the success of each other is an opportunity rather than a challenge for one another," he added.