Speech by State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yiat Asia Society
New York, September 22, 2022
Asia Society President Kevin Rudd, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It’s good to be back in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, and to meet friends again after an interval of three years.
In the last few years, a lot has happened in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc; the global economy is in danger of recession; and the Ukraine crisis persisted and escalated. Issues involving food, energy, industrial and supply chains and climate change have become more acute.
The past few years have seen China-U.S. relations in low decline since the establishment of diplomatic ties. The reality of China-U.S. interdependence is ignored; our history of win-win cooperation is misrepresented; channels of dialogue and communication are blocked. And the bilateral relationship is being defined and dangerously affected by the so-called strategic competition. This is bringing tremendous uncertainty to the future of our people and to countries around the world.
It is widely agreed that the China-U.S. relations have gone well beyond the bilateral scope and have implications for the whole world. The global community expects China and the United States to take the lead, fulfill the responsibility as leading countries, maintain stable bilateral ties and advance global cooperation.
Since last year, President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden have held several rounds of strategic communication in flexible ways. President Xi pointed out that if China and the United States can manage their relationship well it will pay off on the future of the world. It is a question of the century to which both countries must give a good answer. President Biden said that the relationship between the United States and China is the most consequential relationship in the world, and how this relationship develops will shape the world in the 21st century.
The two Presidents agree that they should make the China-U.S. work on a relationship and not leave it. Both believe that both countries should steer clear of conflict and confrontation. And both are in favor of closer bilateral exchanges and cooperation. President Biden has repeatedly stressed that the United States does not seek a new Cold War with China; it does not aim to change China’s system; the revitalization of its alliances is not against China; the US does not support “Taiwan independence”; and he is not looking for a conflict with China. People around the world hope that these important statements will be translated into real actions.
If two fine orchestras are to work together harmoniously, their conductors must first set the same tone, and all the players must follow the same musical score. However, what has happened is that the US team seems to have two different sets of music scores. Their leader’s political will for a stable bilateral relationship has yet to be translated into logical policies. The Chinese people and people from other countries find this confusing, and naturally raise questions:
How will the United States fulfill its promise not to aim to change China’s system, when it has created a false narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism”, a narrative that deliberately increases ideological confrontation with China and aims at the system China’s politics, development path and ruling party?
How can a new Cold War be avoided, when the United States, identifying China as the primary rival and the most serious long-term challenge, engaged in total containment, sought to surround China by forming the -the strategic environment around it, pressured other countries to take sides and form several small circles that exclude China?
How will the United States honor its landmark statement that it does not support “Taiwan independence” when, regardless of China’s strong opposition, it allowed its Speaker of the House to visit Taiwan again after 25 year, it has continued to raise substantive relations with Taiwan through repeated official exchanges and arms sales including many offensive weapons, and is advancing the deliberation of the “Taiwan Policy Act” which threatens the foundation own China-U.S. relations established by the three Joint Communiqués?
And how to keep industrial and supply chains between China and the United States and the world stable, when the United States prolongs the trade war with China, by keeping in place the extra tariffs on 360 billion US dollars of Chinese goods though it ruled inconsistent with WTO rules , and extension of the list of Chinese companies under its sanctions to more than 1,000 entities and individuals?
The United States, on the one hand, has made repeated provocations on issues involving China’s core interests and development rights and interests, but on the other hand has expressed the desire to maintain ir -stable bilateral ties and prevent conflict and confrontation. This is self-contradictory in both logic and reality.
What is the crux of the matter? It stems from how the United States perceives China, the world and itself. Whether it is an all-out confrontation or a strategic competition, both have deviated from the right course of the China-U.S. relationships.
Such deviations are dangerous and have a high price. Mr. Kevin Rudd described the current China-U.S. relationships like in a workshop with wires and cables exposed everywhere, water on the floor and sparks flying. Mr. Joseph Nye compared the relationships with somnambulance syndrome that could derail a new Cold War. If the United States approaches its relations with China with a zero-sum mentality and continues to let “political correctness” misguide its China policy, it will not find solutions to its own problems, but leading the China-U.S. relationships to conflict and confrontation. The message we want to send, clear and strong, is that now is the time to make serious reflections and get back on the right track!
This year marks the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s visit to China and the 40th anniversary of the August 17 Communiqué. History is important. It made things the way they are today, and it helps shape a better future when its value is appreciated.
A few days before I paid a visit to Dr. Kissinger. We reviewed how, with twists and turns, China and the United States came to a common understanding 50 years ago and the wisdom reflected in that episode of history. From the first day of their engagement, China and the United States were aware that each was dealing with a country very different from itself. However, these differences were no obstacles for us to break the ice and establish diplomatic ties, no obstacle for us to deepen cooperation based on common interests, and less for us to make joint contributions to world peace and prosperity.
Looking ahead to the next fifty years, the steady and steady growth of the China-U.S. relations still depend on whether we can put these differences in perspective and, on this basis, continue to pursue our respective and common interests.
Regarding the right way for China and the United States to get along, President Xi Jinping gave a clear answer. This is mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. These three principles are an important conclusion informed by the evolution of China-U.S. relationships over the last 50 odd years. They are also the right way for major countries to live together in this era.
Let me first talk about mutual respect.
Without respect, no trust can be built. Without trust, conflict will be a real danger and actual cooperation cannot take place. This is an important lesson learned from past exchanges between our two countries, and also a basic prerequisite for getting bilateral ties back on track.
In the Shanghai Communiqué issued 50 years ago, both sides agreed that countries, regardless of their social systems, should conduct their relations on the principles of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of -all states, non-aggression against other states, and -interference in the internal affairs of other states. Fifty years later, this guiding principle is even more relevant. Now we can clearly see that China will not become another United States, and the United States cannot shape China as it wishes. Neither side can remove the other. This means that we must respect each other’s choices.
To define the choice of one as democratic and the other as authoritarian, and to see success as changing the other side in its appearance are neither consistent with the facts, nor realistic.
China respects the path of development chosen by the American people. We welcome an open and confident United States that enjoys growth and progress. The United States should also respect the choice of the development path of the Chinese people, namely socialism with Chinese characteristics.
This path is tried and tested by the Chinese people with a clear logic of history. In modern times, the Chinese people have explored relentlessly for a way to save and give new life to the nation. Several models including Western systems were put into practice, but none of them worked as they failed to match the realities of China. By adapting Marxism to Chinese conditions and traditional Chinese culture, the Communist Party of China (CPC) successfully rallied the Chinese people and led them in a united effort to achieve independence and national liberation. Eventually, China found the right path to prosperity and health.
This path opened up good prospects for the modernization of China. We have built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, eradicated absolute poverty for the first time in the country’s history, and in a span of a few decades, transformed China from a poor and weak nation into the second largest economy of the world. China feeds nearly 20 percent of the world’s population with nine percent of its arable land. It now has a middle income group that exceeds 400 million. The 1.4 billion Chinese people moving towards modernization and common prosperity will perform a real miracle in the history of development.
This path brought human rights and true democracy to the Chinese people. The largest social security network and compulsory education system in the world were established. All people development is put front and center, and everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. By integrating electoral democracy with consultative democracy, and procedural democracy with substantive democracy, we have advanced a full process people’s democracy that has won the full support of the people. A major opinion poll in the United States shows that the Chinese people’s approval rating of the Chinese government has remained above 90 percent for several years afterward.
That said, we are clear-eyed that there is still much to be done in China’s development. China’s GDP per capita has just exceeded 12,000 US$, trailing 60 more countries. It ranks below 70th place on the Human Development Index. These require us to remain focused on our primary task—making a more balanced and adequate development and meeting the people’s higher expectations for a better life. While relying on our own efforts in the development of the country and nation, we are also ready to pursue mutually beneficial cooperation with the United States and other countries to foster an external environment favorable to China’s development.
The Chinese people, with an honored civilization of 5,000 years, are confident and independent, and humble and inclusive. China will unswervingly follow its chosen direction, and will steadily advance along this road to greater success. China will continue to use the valuable experience of other countries and the achievements of all civilizations, embrace the world with open arms and open its door even wider.
Some worry that China will export its ideology and threaten the values of other countries. This is completely unnecessary. China has no history of preaching or lecturing others, and has no intention of exporting its system or way today. Since 2,500 years ago, by observing the inclusivity reflected in the laws of the universe and nature, Chinese philosophers came to the conclusion that “Just as all beings grow in harmony without hurting each other, different ways they can move on without interfering. each other.” Living in our times, we should approach differences with a greater heart than our ancestors, accept differences with an attitude of mutual respect, and actively pursue the state of harmony without uniformity.
Now let me move on to peaceful coexistence.
Partner or rival? Cooperation or confrontation? These are questions of fundamental importance in the China-U.S. relationships, and no catastrophic mistake can be made. To keep the bottom of peace, we have to make the right choice.
I would like to tell you clearly that China chooses peace and is committed to peaceful development. Our most basic expectation for China-U.S. relations is that the two countries live together in peace.
As China develops, some people begin to project China as a hypothetical enemy, resulting in so-called “threat inflation”. This is typical excessive anxiety and is completely unnecessary.
Expansion, coercion and hegemony are never in the veins of the Chinese people. On the contrary, the Chinese believe in the ancient wisdom that “a state of war will eventually be destroyed”, and “a hegemonic state is doomed to fail.”
Six hundred years ago, the navigator Zheng He of China’s Ming Dynasty led the most powerful fleets of his times in seven expeditions across continents, before Columbus’s discovery of the new continent. However, instead of taking part in colonization, killing or looting, the Chinese brought tea, silk and porcelain.
I once visited a history museum in Istanbul, a place where Western and Eastern cultures meet. An exhibition hall on the left displayed relics from Turkey’s exchanges with China, mostly silk and porcelain, while a room on the right displayed antiquities from its exchanges with the West, mainly swords, guns and armor . These shows speak to different stories in history. That the ability to develop with an expansionist intent, or to predict China based on the beaten track of traditional powers, both result in serious misjudgment.
Today’s China is built on the legacy of ancient China. For more than 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic, China has never provoked a conflict, occupied an inch of foreign soil, started a proxy war, or joined any military bloc. China has the best record of peace among the world’s major countries. The CPC, China’s ruling party, has incorporated peaceful development into its constitution, and China is the only major country to codify peaceful development into the Constitution. China is committed to not seeking hegemony, expansion, coercion or sphere of influence, and wants to live in peace with all other countries. This is undoubtedly a major contribution to global strategic stability.
For China and the United States to coexist in peace, we must follow the rules that both sides subscribe to. Bilaterally, it should be the three China-U.S. Joint Communications and the important common understanding reached between the leaders of the two countries, rather than imposing its domestic law on the other. At the international level, they should be the basic norms governing international relations based on the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter — the rules and order established at the tremendous cost incurred by the alliance anti-fascist worldwide and the enormous sacrifice made by the over 35 million Chinese victims. As a founding member of the United Nations and the first country to sign the United Nations Charter, China has no reason, nor need, to reinvent the wheel. China and the United States have a responsibility to maintain order and rules together. If the US’s repeated reference to “rules-based international order” means the above-mentioned rules, China has no objection. But if it means something else on which no broad-based international consensus exists, then the United States has no right to impose it on others.
The biggest obstacle to peaceful coexistence between China and the United States is the Cold War mentality. As colonialism ended in the 20th century, the Cold War mentality has long since become an anachronism in the 21st century. Some in the United States try to free China by repeating the containment tactic used on the former Soviet Union, and hope to encircle China through geopolitical maneuvers such as the Indo-Pacific strategy. Such attempts will only be in vain, because China is not what the Soviet Union used to be, and the world is not what it used to be. Only after waking up from the Cold War dream can one see and manage the China-U.S. relationships in a compassionate, rational and realistic way.
No cooperation can be based on a win-lose format. Win-win cooperation is not only possible, but it should be. This is the true narrative of the China-U.S. relations in the last half century, and it should remain the goal that we both pursue.
No two major countries have closer people-to-people contacts or more interconnected interests than China and the United States. Before COVID-19 hit, there were more than 300 flights between our two countries every week and more than five million mutual visits every year. We once had over 100 dialogue and exchange mechanisms, 50 sister province/state pairs, and 234 sister city relationships. Despite the pandemic and additional US tariffs on Chinese exports, two-way trade last year reached US$750 billion, up 28.7 percent year-on-year, and investment from both sides reached 240 billion US dollars. Sixty-six percent of American businesses in China reported plans to invest more in China. During this trip, I met with representatives of the US business community. They shared the view that the China-U.S. the cooperation has benefited people in both countries and the world and hoped to achieve greater growth in the Chinese market. These solid facts and figures show fully that the Chinese and American people want cooperation and our cooperation is driven by win-win results.
For some time now, few Americans have been saying that win-win cooperation is just a political slogan. We cannot agree with this. As the largest developing and developed countries in the world, China and the United States have much to offer each other. We enjoy a wide space for cooperation in a wide range of fields covering economy and trade, energy, science and technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges and cultural. We take on important responsibilities in addressing global issues such as COVID-19, economic recovery, climate change, terrorism, proliferation and regional hotspots. We have also worked together and accomplished great things for the good of the world, including fighting terrorism, tackling financial crises, fighting Ebola, and pushing for the Paris Agreement on climate change. Unfailing truth in China-U.S. interactions is that we both win from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Cooperation is our best choice.
Undoubtedly, China and the United States have competition in areas such as economy and trade, and China is not afraid of such competition. However, we do not agree that the China-U.S. the relationships should be simply defined by the competition, because this is not the whole or the mainstream of this relationship. At the same time, the competition must have boundaries and, more importantly, be fair play. It should be conducted in accordance with widely recognized rules, and not be fixed on the price reduction of the development capacity of others and the denial of legitimate rights and interests. We need healthy competition that brings out the best in each other, not vicious competition that aims for each other’s death.
A particular case here is what happened to the Chinese company Huawei. Huawei is a 100 percent private enterprise, but the United States has used government resources to suppress it around the world, and has even warned countries not to use Huawei equipment or face consequences. Clearly this is not a fair competition. Driven by ideology, the United States exaggerated the concept of national security, built a “small yard, high fence”, clamored for decoupling and cutting supply chains, pushed for “friend-shoring”, conceived the -Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, and formed the Chip 4 Alliance. Clearly this is not a strong competition. Such movements are not helpful for the actual development of the United States. They will also disrupt global economic cooperation.
China has developed itself during reform, opening up and integration in the world. China will not and cannot separate itself from the rest of the world. In pursuit of high-quality development and fostering a new development paradigm, China needs closer connections with the world. By shortening its negative list on foreign investment and creating a more enabling business environment, China is providing its global partners with vast opportunities for cooperation. And China welcomes greater success of American businesses in the Chinese market.
Based on equality and respect, China is willing to have more and better cooperation with the United States. Secretary of State Antony Blinken proposed, in his speech on China policy, six areas for cooperation between the United States and China. In my meeting with Secretary Blinken in Bali, I also produced a list for our cooperation in eight areas. Together, we can make the cooperation list longer and the cooperation pie bigger. The Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and other public goods proposed by China are open to all parties, including the United States, and c -China is also ready for discussions on US initiatives, to bring winners. we win results for both our countries and the world in general.
For cooperation to be win-win, there needs to be necessary conditions and atmosphere. It will not do if the United States undermines China’s core interests and the foundation for bilateral cooperation on the one hand, and on the other hand, expects China to cooperate unconditionally. Such logic simply does not work. Meanwhile, I would like to emphasize that no matter how China-U.S. relations may evolve, China, as a responsible leading country, will remain actively engaged in addressing the many global challenges, fulfill its responsibilities, and make its contribution. We hope the United States will do the same.
The Taiwan issue lies at the heart of China’s core interests; the one China principle is the cornerstone of the political foundation for the China-U.S. relationships; the three China-U.S. Joint Communiqués are the most crucial “guardrails” for our relations. As things stand, the Taiwan issue is growing into the biggest stake in the China-U.S. relationships. If handled badly, it is likely to devastate our bilateral ties.
Before any discussion of the Taiwan issue, the premise should be clear: Taiwan is part of China’s territory; it was never a country. Effective administrative jurisdiction of Taiwan by the Chinese government goes back hundreds of years. In 1895, Japan launched an invasion against China and forced the then Qing government to relinquish control of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands (also known as the Pescadores Islands). It was an episode of humiliation in the history of the Chinese nation; however the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait never stopped their fight against aggression and separation.
In 1943, the governments of China, the United States and the United Kingdom issued the Cairo Declaration, which stated in explicit terms that all the territories that Japan had stolen from the Chinese, such as the Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, should be restored to China. The Potsdam Declaration of 1945 signed by the three countries reiterated that “the terms of the Cairo Declaration must be fulfilled”. When Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender in September later that year, it promised to “carry out the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration in good faith”. The aforementioned legally binding international instruments fully restored Taiwan to China, both de jure and de facto.
It is evident that one China has become part of the post-war international order, and the one China principle, a universally recognized basic norm of international relations. Resolution 2758 of the United Nations General Assembly adopted in 1971 not only resolved once and for all the representation of all of China, Taiwan included, within the United Nations, but also eliminated any space for the creation of “two Chinese” or “one China, one Taiwan”. ” in the international community. Over the past five decades, the U.N. always referred to Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China”: this is Taiwan’s only status in international law. Recognition and accession to one China is also the political prerequisite for all 181 countries in establishing diplomatic ties with China.
The United States has also made an unequivocal commitment to recognize Taiwan as part of China. It is stated in black and white in the Shanghai Communiqué of 1972, the Communiqué of 1978 on the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the Communiqué of August 17, 1982, that there is only China one and Taiwan is part of China, and the People’s Government. The Republic of China is the sole legal Government of China. Successive US administrations have clearly reaffirmed their commitment to the one-China policy and several US Presidents have declared their opposition to Taiwan’s “independence”. All these were kept on record.
However, not long after China and the US established diplomatic ties, the US side went back on its word and passed the Taiwan Relations Act, followed by the so-called “Six “Internal assurances” have constantly disrupted and undermined the principle of one China. . Both were unilateral moves by the United States. They go against the three China-U.S. Joint Communications. Therefore, they are null and void from the very beginning, and the Chinese government has always made its opposition clear.
As the United States will not allow Hawaii to be divided, China has the right to support the unification of the country, since Taiwan is part of China. Since the Government of the People’s Republic of China is recognized as the only legal government representing all of China, Taiwan should not be allowed to join any international organization with sovereign implications. If one recognizes the principle of one China, one should not engage in any official interaction with Taiwan. The logic here couldn’t be simpler.
Recently the United States has repeatedly referred to the “status quo in the Taiwan Strait”, and even accused China of “changing the status quo”. This is the very opposite of the truth. To be frank, it is with the interference and connivance of the United States that the forces of “Taiwan independence” have grown and expanded. They kept making changes to the fundamental status quo that both sides of the Straits belong to the same China, and are therefore the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities rejected the 1992 Consensus which embodies the principle of one China, undermined the prospect of peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, and weakened their pursuit of “independence incremental’. They publicly called for Taiwan’s independence in the party platform, circulated a new “two-state theory”, pressed for “de-sinicization” on the island, and encouraged antagonism and obstructed exchanges across the -Strict. “Taiwan independence”, like a highly destructive “gray rhino” charging towards us, must be resolutely stopped.
Of all the major countries in the world, China is the only one that has yet to realize full reunification. National reunification is the common desire and aspiration of all Chinese sons and daughters. It is also clearly stipulated in the Constitution of China. “Peaceful reunification and One Country, Two systems” — this fundamental guideline best meets the overall interests of the Chinese nation including Taiwan compatriots, and represents the most practicable and inclusive solution to address d -difference in the system between the mainland and Taiwan. Such a solution is peaceful, democratic, of good will and benefits both sides.
Although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait practice different systems, it is not an obstacle to reunification, much less an excuse for secession. We have always worked with the utmost sincerity and effort to pursue peaceful reunification. But, we will never tolerate any activity aimed at secession. We reserve the option to take all necessary measures. This position is designed to prevent actions that violate the Anti-Secession Law; it does not in any way target my fellow Chinese in Taiwan. Checking separatist activities for “Taiwan independence”, maintaining territorial integrity and safeguarding peace in the Taiwan Strait is a sacred right that China exercises according to domestic law and international.
The issue of Taiwan arose as a result of weakness and chaos in the nation, and will be resolved as national renewal becomes a reality. Reunification is the trend of history and the aspiration of the people. The United States must choose to stand on the right side of history.
In less than a month, the Communist Party of China will convene its 20th National Congress to draw up a well-thought-out plan for China’s development in the next five years and beyond. Since its establishment, the CPC has taken the happiness of the people and the renewal of the nation as its mission, and has also worked to advance the progress of humanity and greater good for the world. Adhering to this founding aspiration, we will uphold humanity’s common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, and work with people in all countries to advance together the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.
President Xi Jinping noted that, “The most important event in international relations over the past 50 years has been the reopening and development of the China-U.S. relations, which both countries and the whole world enjoyed. The most important event in international relations in the next 50 years will be China and the United States finding the right way to get along.” It is our hope that China and the United States will take the experience of the past to find inspiration for the present, and gain the strength to move forward. Together, let us explore a way for China-U.S. relationship for the new era and create a better future for both our countries!
