Wang Yi said China is'sincere' about mending its relationship with the US.

 

    Following an interview in Paris on Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi strikes a pose. AFP

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has stated that his nation is really working to strengthen ties with the US, emphasizing the need of stable and predictable bilateral ties for the benefit of both nations' citizens as well as the global community.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Xi Jinping of China recalled his "successful" meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden in November 2023. However, he bemoaned Washington's persistence in its incorrect perception and "misguided" containment strategy against Beijing.

"[The US] has recently continued to woo its so-called allies in an attempt to provoke tensions at sea in the region and build networks to contain China at a faster pace," the foreign minister said.

Yi emphasized China's contribution to global cooperation, progress, and stability while calling on the US to abandon the Cold War-era "zero-sum mentality" and underlining the unilateral restrictions imposed by Washington with the intention of limiting China's scientific and technological advancements.

The foreign minister referred to the US elections as "internal affairs" and reaffirmed Beijing's stance of non-interference in response to a query about the polls, which are scheduled for November of this year.

"Whoever is elected, the Chinese and American people will still need to have exchanges and cooperation, and the two major countries must find the right way to get along with each other," he stated.

Invoking the recent phone discussion between the presidents of the two nations, the official emphasized the values of win-win collaboration, peaceful cohabitation, and mutual respect. The minister also mentioned that both nations should place a high priority on peace and stability.

"China is ready to work with the US to carry out more win-win cooperation," he said

"Taiwan is an integral component of China"

Yi, however, reiterated China's "reunification" attitude and referred to Taiwan as a "inseparable part of China" on the matter of Taiwan, which has become a cause of disagreement between Beijing and Washington as the latter has repeatedly thrown its weight behind the island nation.

He declared that Beijing will not permit anybody to split Taiwan from China, saying that "the Taiwan question is entirely China's internal affair and how to achieve national reunification is a matter for the Chinese people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait."

"China will ultimately achieve complete reunification, and Taiwan is bound to return to the embrace of the motherland," he stated.

The foreign minister emphasized the necessity of opposing the island nation's independence while denouncing the "Taiwan independence separatist activities and external disruptions" as a threat to regional stability.

The minister bemoaned, name-free, the hypocrisy of "some countries" who, while advocating for regional peace and stability, were arming rebels seeking Taiwan's independence.

His comments coincide with Washington's ongoing practice of providing Taiwan with cutting-edge weapons, which Beijing finds tiresome as Washington is Taiwan's primary, if not its most important, partner.

China imposed sanctions on five US arms firms in January of this year due to the sales of weaponry to the independent island.

In addition, Yi bemoaned the 100,000 civilian casualties in the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict and emphasized the necessity of a truce in response to a query.

Additionally, he reiterated China's support for the Palestinians, which includes the formation of an independent Palestinian state headed by Palestinians and the nation's permanent membership in the UN.

"The only way to break the vicious cycle of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict [...] is by truly restoring justice to the Palestinians [and] effectively enforce the two-state solution," he said.

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