China-U.S. trade frictions need to be resolved through dialogue, consultation: Chinese FM

The China-U.S. trade frictions need to be resolved through dialogue and consultation, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New York on Tuesday.

China has kept its door to negotiation open, and the negotiation must be based on mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, and honoring one's word with action, Wang said in a keynote speech at a dinner co-hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the U.S.-China Business Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers a keynote speech at a dinner co-hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the U.S.-China Business Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Council on Foreign Relations, on Tuesday, September 24, 2019, in New York. [Photo: fmprc.gov.cn]

He added that the negotiation should not be conducted under unilateral threats or at the expense of China's legitimate and reasonable right to development.

In his speech, Wang pointed out that recently China and the United States have shown some goodwill on tariffs.

He said a constructive vice ministerial consultation was held in Washington, D.C. last week. He hopes that the 13th round of high-level economic and trade consultations will yield positive results.

Wang said both China and the United States are countries with great wisdom, adding that as long as both countries adhere to the ideas of dialogue on an equal footing and win-win cooperation, the two sides will be able to find a way to effectively manage and properly solve the problem.

He stressed in his speech the importance of economic cooperation as the "ballast" and people-to-people exchanges as the "propeller" in China-U.S. relations, adding that the two sides should not throw off the ballast or shut down the propeller.

Instead, China and the United States should build on the two countries' existing cooperation, and, based on this, make new plans according to new realities, actively seek and expand shared interests, and continuously explore new areas of cooperation, he said.

In line with the aspirations of the two peoples, the two countries should actively encourage exchanges in areas such as industry and commerce, science and technology, education, tourism, culture, and youth, and also on the sub-national level, rather than restricting or blocking such exchanges, Wang said.