Summit a milestone in relations, FM says

The China-United States summit in San Francisco is "a milestone in the history of China-US ties and a major event in current international relations", Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.

Talks between President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden lasted four hours, with simultaneous interpretation being applied throughout the whole process, Wang said at a media briefing after the meeting, as he unveiled details and outcomes of the summit to underscore the great efforts both sides made to ensure the event was efficient and productive.

To save time and cover as many topics on agenda as possible, foreign leaders and senior officials often wear special earpieces during face-to-face bilateral meetings to facilitate simultaneous interpretation.

Wang said that consensuses were reached on "more than 20" issues during the China-US summit, which covered areas such as politics, diplomacy, cultural exchanges, global governance, military and security.

"Some of these (consensuses) had already matured and were settled before the heads-of-state meeting, while some others were negotiated and finalized during the meeting," he said.

Xi and Biden reached a seven-point consensus on China-US ties — treating each other with respect, finding a way to live alongside each other peacefully, maintaining open lines of communication, preventing conflict, upholding the United Nations Charter, cooperating in areas of shared interest, and responsibly managing competitive aspects of the ties.

"These seven points are important and will lay a solid foundation for the next in-depth discussions between the two sides," Wang said.

On dialogue and cooperation, the two sides decided to carry forward and launch mechanism-based consultations in a number of areas. According to Wang, these areas include commerce, economy, finance, export control, Asia-Pacific affairs, marine affairs, arms control and nonproliferation, foreign policy planning, joint working groups and people with disabilities.

In particular, the two sides "agreed to launch consultations on the renewal of the China-US Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement" and to restart the China-US joint commission on agriculture, he said.

Calling the summit very successful, all-encompassing and in-depth, Wang said that prior to their talks, Biden sent a separate invitation to President Xi for holding the summit, which is different from the arrangements made for bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

These consensuses and outcomes "offer more evidence that China and the US share a wide range of common interests", and reaffirm that mutual benefit and win-win cooperation are salient features of China-US ties, he said.

Xi and Biden agreed that their teams will "continue to maintain high-level interactions and exchange visits to follow up on the San Francisco meeting", Wang said.

Wang said "the two sides should make a fresh start from San Francisco and build on a new vision" to advance the relationship in a healthy, stable and sustainable manner.