President Xi meets US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

Xinhua
Sun, 19 Mar 2017 15:30 UTC

© Xinhua/Ju Peng

East meets West

President Xi Jinping met here Sunday with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, saying that cooperation is the only correct choice for both countries. There are important development opportunities resulting from China-U.S. relations, said Xi during the meeting in the Great Hall of People in Beijing.

Xi said he had maintained sound communications with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump through telephone calls and messages, and that they had agreed that the two countries could be good cooperative partners.

To advance China-U.S. ties in a healthy and steady manner, both sides, Xi expressed, could enhance exchanges at high level and various levels; expand cooperation in bilateral, regional and global fields; and properly address and manage sensitive issues. The two sides should grasp the general direction for the development of China-U.S. relations in an attitude responsible for history and future generations, said Xi.

Xi suggested that the two countries increase strategic trust and mutual understanding, review bilateral ties from long-term and strategic perspectives and expand fields of cooperation for win-win outcomes. The two countries should also enhance coordination on regional hotspot issues, respect each other's core interests and major concerns and encourage friendly exchanges between the two peoples, said Xi.

Xi also extended welcome to President Trump for a visit to China. Tillerson said President Trump valued communication with President Xi, and looked forward to meeting Xi and the opportunity for a visit to China.

The U.S. side is ready to develop relations with China based on the principle of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, said Tillerson.

It is Tillerson's first visit to China since he assumed office last month. State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held separate meetings with Tillerson on Saturday.

Comment: Chinese President Xi Jinping and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson were all smiles as the American official wrapped up his first visit to Asia, despite lingering tensions over North Korea, Taiwan, and Donald Trump's past statements on China.

...

Tillerson himself said the US was open to the possibility of a pre-emptive military strike on North Korea, before touching down in China.

But at least out in the open, Washington and Beijing decided to hold their fire. "We should properly handle and manage sensitive issues to promote the healthy and stable development of the Sino-US relationship," said Xi.

Tillerson also spoke of "mutual respect" between the two nations, a phrase considered to be the cornerstone of proposed relations between Beijing and Washington in which the two powers would respect each other's interests.

While some analysts said the repetition of China's own vocabulary represented acquiescence to its aims, it is possible that Tillerson was merely softening the ground ahead of what are likely to be more decisive talks between the two countries' leaders.

It is also possible that the US emissary may have been more forthright away from the cameras, as he had been throughout the rest of his Asian tour, in which he reassured America's allies in their alarm over growing Chinese influence.

The US and China still do not see eye-to-eye on multiple issues, including the One China policy — that denies international recognition to Taiwan as an independent state, political freedom in Hong Kong, and the rights of the country's Tibetan minority.