Engagements between China, U.S. foster healthy relationship

A series of engagements between China and the United States at various levels took place in Beijing this week, underscoring the importance of constructive dialogues in fostering a stable and healthy bilateral relationship.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi met on Tuesday with Kyung-wha Kang, president of the New York City-based Asia Society, and expressed the hope that the institution will continue to act as a bridge to enhance the correct understanding of China among the U.S. people.

Wang said that progress has been made recently in the China-U.S. high-level meeting on economic and trade affairs, which once again proves that equal dialogue, mutual respect and proper handling of each other's legitimate concerns serve the common interests of both China and the U.S.

He emphasized that China's policy toward the U.S. remains "consistent and stable", and reaffirmed China's commitment to true multilateralism and open regionalism.

Noting that the Asia-Pacific region is where the common interests of China and the U.S. converge as well as a focal area for their contradictions and differences, Wang said the two countries should first achieve positive interactions in the region, thereby establishing a correct way to get along with each other and finding effective channels for win-win cooperation.

Kang said the Asia Society has a deep understanding of China's millennia-old cultural heritage and is willing to continue sharing fact-based and objective views on China. The institution will work with more insightful people in the U.S. to build platforms for dialogue to dispel misunderstandings and promote mutual understanding, she added.

Also on Tuesday, Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu held a meeting with David Perdue, the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to China, who arrived in Beijing last week, just days after the world's two largest economies agreed to ease trade tensions.

During their talks, Ma emphasized that China approaches its relationship with the U.S. based on the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, while firmly safeguarding its own sovereignty, security and development interests.

He voiced the hope that Washington will work with Beijing in the same direction to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of bilateral relations.

Earlier this week, the initiative to host 50,000 U.S. students for exchange programs in China over a period of five years also made some progress.

On Monday, Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, received a student delegation from the Max Baucus Institute of the University of Montana. The group, led by former U.S. ambassador to China Max Baucus, is in China for a four-week academic exchange program.

"Despite the challenges facing China-U.S. relations, the friendship between our peoples has remained strong," Liu said, emphasizing the vital role of young people in the future of bilateral ties and encouraging them to contribute actively to the relationship.

Baucus stressed that close cooperation and joint efforts are the only viable path forward, and pledged to continue contributing to the deepening of bilateral exchanges.

On Tuesday, another student delegation from the University of Pennsylvania exchanged views with an official from the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs.

"Engagement between Chinese officials at different levels with various representatives from the U.S. demonstrates China's strong desire to achieve positive and effective interactions with all sectors of American society, especially young people, and to ensure smooth channels of communication," said Diao Daming, a professor at Renmin University of China's School of International Studies.

The interactions are expected to help the U.S. people have objective insights about China, in order to eliminate misunderstandings, Diao said.

"At the same time, China is signaling its expectation that the U.S. will act in the shared interest of both nations and make meaningful adjustments to help create favorable conditions for improving bilateral relations," he added.