Showing posts with label CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WANG YI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WANG YI. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WANG YI

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Remarks With Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Before Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Ben Franklin Room
Washington, DC
October 1, 2014

 SECRETARY KERRY:  Good afternoon, everybody.  It’s my distinct pleasure to welcome His Excellency, the foreign minister of China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi.  I met with the foreign minister in July in Beijing for a very productive Strategic & Economic Dialogue.  We spent two days together and President Xi opened up that meeting and closed the meeting.  And we are very grateful for China’s significant commitment to that dialogue.  And in addition, we had useful conversations in August during my trip to Burma for the ASEAN Regional Forum, and we had a chance to briefly talk in New York.  Knowing that we were going to be meeting here, we held back on the length and breadth of that conversation.

But I’m very pleased that he has taken time to visit us here in Washington on the occasion of China’s National Day, and we congratulate you on that and welcome you here.  And I’m pleased he’s taken time to come here and strengthen our relationship as part of the ongoing dialogue between us.

I want to emphasize that the United States welcomes the rise of a peaceful, prosperous, and stable China, and one that plays a responsible role in Asia and the world, and contributes to upholding the existing rules and the norms on economic and security issues.  I take note that China is stepping up and contributing to this challenge of Ebola, and we are appreciative for China’s willingness to put both equipment and personnel on the line in order to help deal with this.  We view that in very positive terms with respect to China’s important role in global leadership.

And that is why we are committed – that role and our interests together – in trying to find ways to cooperate on those issues of greatest consequence on a global basis while we manage some of the differences between us effectively.  We want to show a new model of relations in which we broaden our cooperation on the common interests and constructively manage those differences so that we can be as effective as possible.

The foreign minister and I are both coming off of a very busy and very productive week in New York for the climate summit and the UN General Assembly.  There I took pleasure in participating in President Obama’s meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and I left those meetings encouraged, significantly encouraged, by his commitment on behalf of China to the dialogue with respect to climate change.  And particularly, we talked about dealing with the mitigating of threats from global climate change and also to trying to work together as we develop the targets for next year’s conference in Paris.  We also talked about containing Ebola as well as countering the challenge of radical extremism and terrorism, and particularly ISIL.

One of the issues that we’re going to discuss today, no doubt, is the situation in Hong Kong.  And as China knows, we support universal suffrage in Hong Kong accordant with the Basic Law, and we believe in open society with the highest possible degree of autonomy and governed by rule of law is essential for Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity.  And we have high hopes that the Hong Kong authorities will exercise restraint and respect for the protestors’ right to express their views peacefully.

China, importantly, is hosting APEC this year, and their hosting of that meeting could not be more timely or more important to all of us.  I know President Obama is personally looking forward to attending the APEC summit in November.  We’re grateful to the Chinese for helping to arrange the dates in a way that worked for everybody’s schedule.  And I think that the foreign minister and I in a few moments will discuss how we can make certain that that visit is a success, that it is as productive as possible, but also so that the APEC summit is the success that we all want it to be.

So Mr. Foreign Minister, I’m delighted you’re here, and I very much look forward to our conversation.  Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER WANG:  (Via interpreter) Secretary Kerry, friends from the press, today marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of new China.  It’s our National Day.  I want to share the joy of the Chinese people with you.  I also want to thank Secretary Kerry for his best wishes.  This is a regular visit to the United States by me; it is also a return visit for Secretary Kerry’s visit to China earlier this year.

More importantly, I’ve come to the United States to hold discussion with the U.S. side, to have strategic communication with the U.S. colleagues for President Obama’s trip to China for the APEC meeting and visit to China, particularly for the important consultations, talks between the two presidents.  I want to say that the common interests between us are far greater than our differences.  I agree with what Secretary Kerry said about the areas of cooperation.  Indeed, we need cooperation.  We can cooperate with each other.  And there is an increasing list of areas of cooperation between us, and I believe the list can go on.

There is a very important common mission for the two countries; that is, as the largest developing country and largest developed country in the world, China and the United States need to work together to build a new model of major country relations featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation.  This meets our common interests, meets the expectation of the international community.  It is also in keeping with the trend of human progress.

We don’t think the process will be all smooth sailing.  There will be various risks and challenges on the way.  The China-U.S. relationship is just like a giant ship sailing on the sea.  It requires that both sides work jointly to keep the ship on the right course, keep injecting the impetus for it to forge ahead; and at the same time, we also work jointly to properly handle hidden rocks and shoals.  I believe we need to enhance mutual trust, strategic trust; reduce mutual strategic misgivings; and reduce our misjudgment.  As long as we work jointly in that direction, we will be able to meet our goal.  This is our common mission.  It is also the responsibility that we need to jointly fulfill for the international community.

The endeavor for building this new model of major country relationship is an ongoing process that we are undertaking right at this moment.  We are ready to work with the United States to enhance cooperation, properly manage our differences, and make unremitting efforts towards our common goal.

Secretary Kerry mentioned Hong Kong.  The Chinese Government has very firmly and clearly stated its position.  Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs.  All countries should respect China’s sovereignty.  And this is also a basic principle governing international relations.  I believe for any country, for any society, no one will allow those illegal acts that violate public order.  That’s the situation in the United States, and that’s the same situation in Hong Kong.  We believe that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s government has the capability to properly handle the current situation in accordance with the law.

And I am ready to have a full discussion with Secretary Kerry about those regional and international issues of mutual interest and also our strategic bilateral cooperation.  I hope that more consensus can be reached through such dialogue.  Thank you all.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

REMARKS BY SECRETARY KERRY AND CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WANG YI BEFORE MEETING

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Remarks With Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Before Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
September 19, 2013


SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning, everybody, thank you very much for joining us. And it’s my great privilege to welcome His Excellency, the Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi.
He was here 15 years ago as a visiting scholar at Georgetown, and I know that he remembers well this kind of weather, this kind of a beautiful day along the Potomac. And we’re very happy to have him back in Washington.

I met with Foreign Minister Wang in April in Beijing where he gave us a very generous and warm welcome, and we had excellent conversation, and then in Brunei this summer. And I’m very pleased that he has taken the time to strengthen our relationship by visiting here ahead of our very busy week in New York.

As President Obama has frequently stated, the United States welcomes the continued peaceful rise of China, and we have a vested interest in China’s growing prosperity and partnership, not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but also around the world.

President Obama has also made what I believe is a strategic and appropriate commitment to rebalance our interests and our investments in Asia. A stronger partnership with China is very much a part of that effort. The United States is a Pacific nation, and we take our Pacific partnerships very seriously, and we will continue to build our enduring presence in that area, working with our partners to promote peace and prosperity.

China and the United States have also agreed to a new model of relations, and that was worked on and announced at the Sunnylands summit with our presidents. It is based on practical cooperation and constructive management of differences. We recognized the need to avoid falling into a trap of seeing one another as strategic rivals, and that recognition is now driving our partnership on issues from climate change to wildlife trafficking to military consultations and the promotion of balanced growth around the world.

Importantly, part of our new relationship is a commitment to engage in frank discussions on sensitive issues, particularly where we disagree, where misunderstanding could lead to a miscalculation.

We plan to discuss Syria today, and while we appreciate China’s support for a political solution, the only solution we believe is ultimately available and possible, we do have differences between our nations and have disagreed sharply over how the international community should respond to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons. With negotiations ongoing at the Security Council, we look forward to China playing a positive, constructive, important role.

We will also engage in very important conversation about North Korea today. China plays a very special role in addressing the North Korean nuclear challenge and in achieving our shared goal: the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

China and the United States also have a shared interest in preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and our close cooperation will be critical to that effort, and the Foreign Minister and I will discuss this further today.

From our dialogue on intellectual property to maritime security and human rights, we are committed to working through difficult issues, and, as you can tell, we have a very big agenda. And it’s through the process of working through these difficulties that we can actually forge a stronger friendship, a stronger partnership, and a stronger future for both of our nations.

So, Foreign Minister Wang, thank you again for your visit. I welcome you here. I hope you feel at home during your time in Washington. It’s good to see you again.

FOREIGN MINISTER WANG: (Via interpreter) Secretary Kerry has on several occasions asked me to visit the United States, and I’m very happy that finally I have come to visit this country.

This year is an important year for China-U.S. relationship to build on past achievements and make new progress. Since the change of government in both countries, China-U.S. relationship has had a smooth transition, got off to a good start, and now enjoys strong momentum. President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama met successfully twice in less than three months. They reached important agreement on our two countries working together to build a new model of major country relationship, charting the future course for China-U.S. ties.

I have come to the United States to work with the U.S. side to push forward the building of this new model of major country relationship between our two countries with concrete actions and enrich its (inaudible) with our specific cooperation. I look forward to having in-depth and candid discussion with Secretary Kerry on all these issues of mutual interest, to which that Mr. Secretary just referred. And the Chinese side is ready to work with the United States to make good preparations for our upcoming high-level engagement, and for pushing forward our mutually beneficial cooperation. At the same time, we are also ready to have in-depth communication with the United States with an open mind on those issues, including Syria, issues on the Korean Peninsula, climate change, and cyber security. We also want to discuss with the United States the relevant issues in the Asia-Pacific region, to work with the U.S. side for sound interaction in the Asia-Pacific between our two countries.

I have come to the United States to implement the agreement reached between our top leaders to strengthen the mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries and to enhance the China-U.S. friendship. We look forward to working with the United States to ensure that we will be able to translate the defining feature of this new model of major country relationship, namely non-conflict and confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation into all aspects of China-U.S. relationship to bring benefits to our both countries and beyond. And it is my belief that there is tremendous potential for us working together to further expand and deepen our cooperation.

Just now, Secretary Kerry referred to the two important issues of Syria and the DPRK. Let me make a few brief comments here.

On Syria, China welcomes the framework agreement reached not long ago by the United States and Russia. We believe that there needs to be early agreement on the decision to be taken by the OPCW, and at the same time, the Security Council of the United Nations also needs to recognize and support this decision. Ultimately, the issue of Syria needs to be resolved through political means. The Chinese side will continue to play its positive and constructive role in that direction.

Addressing issues on the Korean Peninsula have been an important area for China-U.S. cooperation. Today marks the 8th anniversary of the issuance of September 19th

Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks. I believe it is an important time for the Six Parties to review the past, summarize the good experience, and open up brighter prospects for the future. To achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and maintain peace and stability in Northeast Asia serves the common interests of China and the United States. I look forward to having a deep discussion with Secretary on how we can work together to re-launch the Six-Party Talks and effectively push forward the denuclearization process. And I am confident that we will be able to reach new, important agreement.

Well, today is also the Chinese traditional festival, a mid-Autumn day for family reunion. And the moon tonight will be the fullest in this whole year, which augurs well, I suppose, for a brighter future. And let me use this opportunity to convey the festive greetings to all of you and through all of you to the American people. Thank you.

(In English) Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: (In Chinese.)

FOREIGN MINISTER WANG: (In Chinese.)

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very, very much.

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