US Pledges Not to Start a Cold War Against China at G20 Meeting

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held “substantive and constructive” talks on Beijing-Washington relations and major international and regional issues of common interest, on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pledged during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bali that Washington would not start a cold war or challenge the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

He also noted the need for personal contacts between U.S. and Chinese representatives in his meeting with Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia.

“Blinken stated that the U.S. side is not seeking a new cold war with China, is not trying to change China’s state system and will not challenge the CCP and its political role,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday.

The Secretary of State at the meeting argued that Washington “is doing everything possible to control risk factors in relations between the two countries.” Blinken also assured that the United States “will take an open stance to promote cooperation with China,” the report said.

Wang emphasized that China has practiced mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as three principles in the development of relations between the two nations.

Since the U.S. has pledged not to seek to change the Asian country’s system, Washington should respect the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics chosen by the people of the Asian country, the foreign minister said.

China also submitted four lists to the United States: the list of U.S. irregularities to be stopped, the list of key individual cases of concern to China, the list of China-related bills of great concern to China, and the list of eight areas of China-U.S. cooperation.

The foreign ministers reached a consensus to push for more results from the China-U.S. joint working group consultations on an equal and fair basis. They agreed to resume people-to-people exchanges and consultations and strengthen cooperation on climate change and public health.

The two sides also put forward the vision of strong China-U.S. interaction in the Asia-Pacific region, and exchanged in-depth views on the Ukraine issue and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.