US should say farewell to the old, hello to new

Although he touched upon dozens of topics at his news conference on Sunday, few would doubt that State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi was using the opportunity to signal to the United States that it should act to follow up on the agreement reached between leaders of the two countries in their phone call last month. They should unblock communication channels to avoid misperceptions and miscalculations.

As two countries with different social systems, it is inevitable that there are differences and contradictions between both sides. The key is to effectively control them through frank communication.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the National People's Congress, Wang said that China is willing to discuss and deepen cooperation with the US with an open attitude, to jointly say "farewell to the old and welcome the new".

It is to be hoped that, as he urged, the US will lift all kinds of unreasonable restrictions on Sino-US cooperation as soon as possible and not fabricate any more artificial obstacles, so that the two countries can deepen their cooperation on the pressing issues confronting them, such as fighting the pandemic, economic recovery and climate change.

By reiterating China's principled position that it is willing to work with the US in the spirit of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and urging the US to build up goodwill with China by first cooperating on areas of common concern, Wang has in effect responded to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's first major speech at the State Department on Wednesday, in which the top US diplomat said "China is the only country with the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system－all the rules, values, and relationships that make the world work the way we want it to."

It is evident what China wants is to reengage with the US and bring the relationship back on track, yet the reluctance of the Joe Biden administration to deviate from the course laid out by the previous administration remains an obstacle.

His predecessor made it crystal clear near the end of his term that what the US dislikes is not China but a country that is not willing to do its bidding. Blinken has now made it clear that what the Biden administration wants is not "a stable and open international system" to which China is a major contributor, but one in which China is under the thumb of the US. China remains open to dialogue and cooperation, but it will not be at the US' beck and call.

It seems that the US is again making the wrong choice of path at a historical crossroad, and is intent on heading down a path that will inflict further damage not only on China, but on itself and others.