China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) before a bilateral meeting at the Department of State in Washington, September 19, 2013.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Washington, D.C.
“The United States welcomes the continued peaceful rise of China,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said when welcoming Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi before their recent meeting in Washington, D.C. “We have a vested interest in China’s growing prosperity and partnership, not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but also around the world.”
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Kerry With Chinese Foreign Minister
“President Obama has made . . . a strategic and appropriate commitment to rebalance our interests and our investments in Asia,” Secretary Kerry said. “A stronger partnership with China is very much a part of that effort. The United States is a Pacific nation, and we take our Pacific partnerships very seriously, and we will continue to build our enduring presence in that area, working with our partners to promote peace and prosperity.”
“China and the United States have also agreed to a new model of relations, and that was worked on and announced at the Sunnylands summit [in California] with [U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jiping]. It is based on practical cooperation and constructive management of differences,” Secretary Kerry continued. “We recognized the need to avoid falling into a trap of seeing one another as strategic rivals, and that recognition is now driving our partnership on issues from climate change to wildlife trafficking to military consultations and the promotion of balanced growth around the world. Importantly, part of our new relationship is a commitment to engage in frank discussions on sensitive issues, particularly where we disagree, where misunderstanding could lead to a miscalculation.”
Discussions between the United States and China included Syria, North Korea, Iran, human rights, and many other important regional and global issues.
“From our dialogue on intellectual property to maritime security and human rights, we are committed to working through difficult issues,” Secretary Kerry said in conclusion. “It’s through the process of working through these difficulties that we can actually forge a stronger friendship, a stronger partnership, and a stronger future for both of our nations.”
