Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will give a speech at the 2023 Munich Security Conference held in Germany on February 18, 2023.
Johannes Simon | Getty Images News | Getty Images
BEIJING – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi put on a more reconciliatory tone about US relations at a well-known press conference on Friday, in contrast to the province’s more aggressive language.
The King stated that the United States should not impose “arbitrary tariffs” or return goodwill with hostility, but he emphasized that both countries have long been part of the world and demand “peaceful coexistence.”
“Given the wide range of common interests and wide space for cooperation, it is entirely possible to be partners that help China and the US succeed with each other,” Wang told Mandarin through official translations.
He spent much of the approximately 90-minute press conference on China’s efforts to improve relations with other countries and support the interests of non-Western countries.
Wang is also the director of the Chinese Central Committee’s Foreign Affairs Bureau within the Communist Party, making him the most senior diplomat in the country. He was talking to reporters at China’s annual parliamentary meeting known as “Two Sessions.”
His comments came shortly after China fought back against the US president, who had regained President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.
“If war is what the US wants, whether it’s a tariff war, a trade war or another kind of war, we’re ready to fight to the end,” the US Chinese embassy told X’s Post Wednesday.
Tensions between the US and China have escalated in the past few days. Earlier this week, Trump imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese products, and Beijing retaliated with a mandate that is subject to restrictions on US agricultural products and some US companies.
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Youwo told reporters Thursday that Beijing was willing to meet with the US for trade consultations.
In a budget proposal released this week for government spending this year, Beijing plans to increase spending on diplomatic efforts by 8.4%, compared to a 6.6% increase last year.
