On April 25, 2024, the American and Chinese flags were flying inside the Peace Hotel in Shanghai, China.
Wang Gang|Visual China Group|Getty Images
China’s ambassador to Washington said China is willing to become a partner and friend with the United States and seeks to strengthen dialogue between the world’s two largest economies.
Speaking to Chinese officials and the U.S. ambassador to China in Hong Kong on Friday, Xie Feng said China had no plans to surpass or replace the United States.
Beijing is seeking to reset its relationship with Washington ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the presidency in January.
Trump has pledged to impose tariffs of more than 60% on Chinese imports, but Beijing and Chinese companies hope his protectionist policies will also anger U.S. allies in Europe and Asia, providing an opportunity for China to increase its global influence and improve trade relations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Friday to reject unilateralism and protectionism and support economic globalization.
However, some analysts say China’s efforts as a counterweight to a Trump-led United States have lost their luster compared with 2016, when Trump was first elected.
Xie said that China-US partnership has never been a zero-sum game, and the two countries have great potential for cooperation in trade, agriculture, energy, artificial intelligence, public health and other fields.
Xie emphasized that the concerns of both parties should be addressed in a “dialogue tone” and said that “it is absolutely possible to put issues on the table and communicate candidly to seek solutions on an equal footing.”
He said Taiwan was the biggest “flash point” that could lead to conflict and confrontation between Beijing and Washington, and called for clear opposition to Taiwanese “separatists.”
China considers democratically governed Taiwan its own territory, something Taipei denies.
