Diplomats commemorate 50th anniversary of Shanghai Communique

Foreign Minister Wang Yi and veteran diplomats, including Henry Kissinger, gave video speeches at a ceremony on Monday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Shanghai Communique, the document that paved the way for the normalization of Sino-US relations.

The ceremony took place in Shanghai's Jin Jiang Hotel, the venue where the historic document was issued on Feb 28, 1972, during the then US president Richard Nixon's visit to China.

"The China-US relationship is facing rarely seen challenges since the establishment of the diplomatic ties, and this has caused the international community to worry deeply about the resurgence of a divided world," said Wang in the speech. "History tells us that by seeking common ground while reserving differences, we can attain peaceful co-existence between countries with different social systems."

Wang stressed the importance of upholding the one-China principle in dealing with the Taiwan question. He noted that the US government explicitly stated in the communique that it does not challenge this position.

Kissinger, who served as assistant for national security affairs to the then US president Richard Nixon and was behind Nixon's historic first visit to China, attended the meeting via video link.

"I have great confidence that 50 years from now when people assemble again to reflect on Chinese and American relations, they will look back to a century of cooperation and understanding and settlement of conflicts," he said.

Contact the writer at xingyi@chinadaily.com.cn