'China hopes next US administration will restore normalcy to bilateral ties'

BEIJING: China hopes that the next US administration under President-elect Joe Biden will return to a "sensible approach", resume dialogue with Beijing, restore normalcy to the bilateral relations and restart cooperation, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. "China-US relations have come to a new crossroads, and a new window of hope is opening," Wang said in an interview with Xinhua news agency published on Saturday.

He said in recent years, China-US relations have run into "unprecedented difficulties".

Fundamentally, it all comes down to the serious misconceptions of US policymakers about China, according to Wang.

Some see China as the so-called biggest threat and their policy based on this misperception is simply wrong, he said. "What has happened proves that the US attempt to suppress China and start a new Cold War has not just seriously harmed the interests of the two peoples, but also caused severe disruptions to the world.

"Such a policy will find no support and is doomed to fail," the Foreign Minister added.

Wang also claimed that China's policy towards the US is consistent and stable.

"We are ready to develop with the United States a relationship based on coordination, cooperation and stability.

"We know that some in the US are uneasy about China's rapid development. However, the best way to keep one's lead is through constant self-improvement, not by blocking others' development," he said.

"We believe that as long as the US can draw lessons from the past and work with China in the same direction, the two countries are capable of resolving differences through dialogue and expanding converging interests by cooperation," the State Councillor added.

Last month, Wang had made similar comments at an event, where he urged joint efforts between Beijing and Washinton to ensure "a stable transition" of bilateral relations against disruptions of all kinds, and striving to resume dialogue, bring ties back on track and rebuild mutual trust.

On December 15, China had called to strengthening bilateral ties with the US after the American Electoral College officially certified Biden's victory.

Chinese President Xi Jinping had sent a congratulatory message to Biden on November 25, 2020, after the latter was projected to win the hotly-contested US presidential election held on November 3. In the last two years, tensions between the world's two largest economies have escalated. The Trump administration has levied tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of Chinese goods, to which Beijing has responded with duties of its own.

In January, the countries reached a phase one agreement on trade that called for increased Chinese purchases of US goods and greater access to the Chinese financial market.

However, bilateral tensions have only increased in the months since, amid the coronavirus pandemic. (IANS)

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