China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: what Foreign Minister Wang Yi had to say about US relations, Taiwan and wars in Ukraine and Gaza
- Wang used his appearance in front of the world’s media to criticise US ‘tactics to suppress China’ and warn against support for Taiwanese independence
- He also repeated Beijing’s support for peace efforts in Ukraine and Gaza, and said disputes in the South China Sea should be resolved through negotiation
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Here are some of the key takeaways from his hour-and-half appearance.
US-China relations
Wang told the press conference: “If there is conflict or confrontation between two major countries like the US and China, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
Although he said relations have improved since the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Joe Biden in California last year, Washington’s misperceptions about China still linger and its promises have not been fulfilled.
“The US has been devising various tactics to suppress China,” he said. “If the US says one thing and does another, where is its credibility as a major country? If it gets jittery whenever it hears the word China, where is its confidence as a major country?”
Taiwan
On this most sensitive of issues, Wang repeated Beijing’s mantra that it would strive for peaceful reunification, but warned that those who support Taiwanese independence will “get burned for playing with fire”.
Russia and Ukraine
Wang said China’s partnership with Moscow has been moving forward on a “high-level”, with deepening trust and fresh opportunities ahead. He stressed that deepening this relationship was “not targeted at any party”.
In response to a separate question about the Ukraine war – now in its third year – he said China has an objective and impartial position, and supported the idea of holding a peace conference involving both Moscow and Kyiv. “The earlier the talks start, the sooner peace will come,” Wang added.
South China Sea
He said differences in the disputed waters should be properly managed through dialogue and that disputes should be resolved by negotiations between claimant states.
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Wang did not not mention any specific country in his response but warned that countries outside the region should not become disrupters in the South China Sea.
Israel-Gaza war
Wang called for a broad-based and authoritative international peace conference to come up with a road map to end the crisis.
He called on the international community to act promptly to promote an immediate ceasefire and repeated China’s support for a two-state solution.
Europe
He said China and Europe should be “defenders of multilateralism”, adding that cooperation should define their relationship.
What he didn’t say
Although Wang fielded 21 questions there was nothing that touched specifically on two of China’s biggest neighbours India and Japan, with more focus on China’s relations with developing nations in other parts of the world.