China Global Television Network: COVID-19 and the upcoming US presidential election are straining China-US relations. How concerned are you that China’s relations with the United States could further deteriorate?
Wang Yi: The US has become the worst affected country; with every day that passes, many innocent lives are taken by the virus. I would like to express deep sympathy for what the American people are going through, and our sincere hope and best wishes that they will defeat the virus and resume normal life and work soon.
COVID-19 is a common enemy for China and the US. Mutual support and assistance are the shared preference of our two peoples. Early on in China’s response, many American organizations, companies and citizens extended a helping hand. When the US was hit by the virus, the government, local authorities and people of China reciprocated their kindness, generously donating large quantities of needed supplies. We also supported and facilitated US procurement of medical supplies in China. Take face masks for example. More than 12 billion masks have been exported to the US, which roughly means 40 masks for every American.
It is most regrettable that while the coronavirus is still out there, a “political virus” is also spreading in the US and jumping at any opportunity to attack and slander China. Some politicians ignore the basic facts and make up countless lies and conspiracy theories concerning China. A list of these lies has been compiled and debunked online. New lies will be added to the list. The longer the list, the more it says about how low the rumor-mongers are willing to go and the more stains they will leave in history.
I call on the US side to stop wasting precious time and stop costing people’s lives. China and the US need to work together on a number of urgent things. First, we may share our experience and learn from each other’s best practices to bolster our respective responses to COVID-19. Second, we must do what the world expects of us, jointly participate in and advance multilateral cooperation against COVID-19 and make active contributions to the global response. Third, while getting prepared for a long fight against COVID-19 and maintaining our ongoing response, we must start to communicate and coordinate our macro-policies to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our economies and the world economy.
As for where we are and where we need to be in China-US relations, our position is consistent. As the largest developing country and the largest developed country, China and the US shoulder great responsibilities for global peace and development. It is imperative for us to seriously and properly handle our relations out of a strong sense of responsibility to humanity, to history and to our peoples. Both China and the US stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation: this best captures what we have learned, positive and otherwise, from the past decades. Both sides should take this lesson to heart.
China and the US have different social systems, but this is the result of the different choices made by our people, which we must respect. It’s also true that we have many disagreements, but that doesn’t preclude cooperation. When you think about the challenges facing today’s world, almost all of them require coordination between China and the US.
China remains prepared to work with the US in the spirit of no conflict or confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation and build a relationship based on coordination, cooperation and stability. At the same time, China will defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, its legitimate right to development, and its dignity and place in the world which the Chinese people have worked so hard to earn. China has no intention to change, still less replace, the US. It’s time for the US to give up its wishful thinking of changing China or stopping 1.4 billion people’s historic march toward modernization.
It has come to our attention that some political forces in the US are taking China-US relations hostage and pushing our two countries to the brink of a “new Cold War”. This dangerous attempt to turn back the wheel of history will undo the fruits of decades-long China-US cooperation, dampen America’s own development prospects, and put world stability and prosperity in jeopardy. People with wisdom and foresight on both sides must step forward to stop it.
In short, for the fundamental and long-term interests of the Chinese and American people and the well-being and future of humanity, China and the US should and must find a way of peaceful co-existence and mutually beneficial cooperation, demonstrating that this is possible between two countries with different systems and cultures.
RIA Novosti: How do you assess China-Russia relations in the context of COVID-19? Do you agree with some people’s characterization that China and Russia may join force to challenge US predominance?
Wang Yi: While closely following the COVID-19 response in Russia, we have done and will continue to do everything we can to support it. I believe under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, the indomitable Russian people will defeat the virus and the great Russian nation will emerge from the challenge with renewed vigor and vitality.
Since the start of COVID-19, President Xi Jinping and President Putin have had several phone calls and kept the closest contact between two world leaders. Russia is the first country to have sent medical experts to China, and China has provided the most anti-epidemic assistance to Russia. Two-way trade has gone up despite COVID-19. Chinese imports from Russia have grown faster than imports from China’s other major trading partners. The two countries have supported and defended each other against slanders and attacks coming from certain countries. Together, China and Russia have forged an impregnable fortress against the “political virus” and demonstrated the strength of China-Russia strategic coordination.
I have no doubt that the two countries’ joint response to the virus will give a strong boost to China-Russia relations after COVID-19. China is working with Russia to turn the crisis into an opportunity. We will do so by maintaining stable cooperation in energy and other traditional fields, holding a China-Russia year of scientific and technological innovation, and accelerating collaboration in e-commerce, bio-medicine and the cloud economy to make them new engines of growth in our post-COVID-19 economic recovery. China and Russia will also enhance strategic coordination. By marking the 75th anniversary of the UN, we stand ready to firmly protect our victory in WWII, uphold the UN Charter and basic norms of international relations, and oppose any form of unilateralism and bullying. We will enhance cooperation and coordination in the UN, SCO, BRICS and G20 to prepare ourselves for a new round of the once-in-a-century change shaping today’s world.
I believe that with China and Russia standing shoulder-to-shoulder and working back-to-back, the world will be a safer and more stable place where justice and fairness are truly upheld.
Agencia EFE: There are two voices among the European countries when it comes to China, with some even thinking that China is Europe’s systemic rival. What’s your comment?
Wang Yi: Despite all the changes going on in the world, the relationship between China and the EU continues to be defined by cooperation and demonstrate great potential. The most important thing we have learned from the past 45 years is this: China and the EU are fully capable of building trust through equal-footed dialogue and resolving differences through constructive communication. Between China and the EU, there is no fundamental conflict of interests, but ever greater room for mutually beneficial cooperation and extensive consensus on supporting multilateralism. For the advancement of human progress, China and the EU must remain each other’s comprehensive strategic partners and not become systemic rivals. Our interaction should be a positive cycle that enables our mutual success, not a knock-out match which results in only one winner.
As a European proverb goes, “True friends never give up on each other.” In the wake of COVID-19, China and the EU have given each other strong support, illustrated by many touching stories. COVID-19 is an unprecedented crisis. It requires China and the EU to rise above ideological differences, dispel self-fulfilling suspicions and send a common message of solidarity and cooperation.
COVID-19 has affected the important diplomatic agenda between China and the EU set for this year, but only to some extent. The two sides are having discussions on holding the 22nd China-EU Summit as early as possible, and actively exploring the possibility of holding a special China-EU summit when appropriate. We are working to wrap up negotiations on the China-EU investment agreement within the year, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation in new areas such as connectivity, the environment, the digital economy and artificial intelligence. The 45th anniversary of China-EU relations affords the two sides an opportunity to build a more stable, mature, productive and substantive relationship.
Kyodo News: How does China see the future relations between China, Japan and the ROK?
Wang Yi: China, Japan and the ROK are friendly neighbors separated only by a strip of water. The three countries have worked closely in responding to COVID-19. A special foreign ministers’ video conference has taken place, followed by another one held by our health ministers. We are sharing information and coordinating containment measures and entry and exit management, which has proven effective in stemming the spread of COVID-19 in our region. The people of our three countries went to each other’s aid and left many touching stories that give true meaning to the verses “Though we live in different lands, the same moon and sky make us one” and “United by the same humanity, we forget our nationality”. The three countries’ joint response to COVID-19 is providing an example and inspiration for the world.
While we stay vigilant, our immediate and shared priority must shift to restoring economic growth. As the world’s leading economies, China, Japan and the ROK account for more than one-fifth of global GDP. We were among the first to bring COVID-19 under control and resume work and production. These efforts will contribute to a regional economic recovery and to the stability of the global economy.
First, we will forestall any resurgence of infections to consolidate the gains. Faced with ongoing risks from COVID-19, China, Japan and the ROK need to continue to share information and experience and coordinate our collective response. We are intensifying joint efforts on vaccine and drug research and development. We need to set up a regional emergency liaison mechanism and reserve of essential medical supplies. We need to also leverage the Internet, big data and other information technologies to upgrade the region’s public health governance and emergency response capacity.
Second, we will coordinate the resumption of work and production and stabilize our industrial and supply chains. While never lowering its guard, China is prepared to open “fast tracks” for the movement of people and “green corridors” for the flow of goods with the ROK and other countries so that we can restore as much practical cooperation as possible and revitalize our respective and regional economic activities.
Third, we will aim for a higher standard of regional economic cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era. Our three countries need to stay committed to multilateralism and free trade. We need to cut tariffs, remove barriers and open up markets to each other. More collaboration will be pursued on health and medical care, smart manufacturing and 5G to turn them into new engines of economic growth. We will speed up trilateral free trade negotiations and work toward signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement within the year to strengthen regional economic linkages. We will fully leverage regional mechanisms to forestall financial risks and make our economies more resilient.
All in all, China is prepared to work with Japan, the ROK and other countries to completely defeat COVID-19 as soon as possible, restore economic vitality in East Asia, and promote development in our region and the world with Oriental wisdom and strength.
Shenzhen Satellite TV: What are China’s plans for growing its relations with ASEAN?
Wang Yi: If you look at the course of China-ASEAN relations over the years, you can see that, from the Asian financial crisis to the global financial crisis, each crisis has led to closer ties and stronger cooperation between the two sides. This is a testament to the extraordinary friendship and profound trust between us. I remember that during the SARS outbreak in 2003, the first multilateral conference was held between China and ASEAN countries. It is also the case this time with COVID-19. On 20 February, I joined my ASEAN colleagues for a special foreign ministers’ meeting on COVID-19. We held hands, stood shoulder-to-shoulder and chanted “Stay strong, Wuhan! Stay strong, China! Stay strong, ASEAN!” To this day, that heart-warming moment still inspires the people in China and ASEAN.
Thanks to joint efforts, China-ASEAN cooperation continued to grow despite COVID-19. In the first quarter of this year, our trade in goods grew 6.1 percent to exceed 140 billion dollars, making ASEAN China’s biggest trading partner. This is a vote of confidence in each other’s development prospects even though we are confronted by a common challenge. Some ASEAN foreign ministers put it very well, “That which does not kill us can only make us stronger” and “We are stronger in the broken places”.
Indeed, just as rainbow appears after a storm, after COVID-19, China will continue to view ASEAN as a high priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and support ASEAN centrality in East Asian cooperation. We will work with ASEAN countries in the spirit of mutual trust, mutual accommodation, mutual benefit and mutual assistance to take our relationship to the next level. We will accelerate cooperation to resume economic activities and make up for the losses caused by the virus. We will seek stronger complementarity between the Belt and Road Initiative and ASEAN development plans and expand cooperation in emerging sectors such as smart cities, artificial intelligence and e-commerce. We will uphold the multilateral trading regime and work together for the signing of the RCEP agreement within this year to build a more integrated regional economy. We propose a regional liaison mechanism for public health emergencies and reserve centers for epidemic control provision, which may help us enhance public health cooperation and crisis response capacity. We will make the most of the China-ASEAN Young Leaders Scholarship and other flagship programs to promote people-to-people exchanges. We will also step up cooperation on the blue economy and ecological and environmental protection to drive sustainable development and benefit people in our region.
Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of China-ASEAN dialogue relations, another milestone for both sides. We are convinced that with the maturity and confidence this relationship has gained in the past three decades, China and ASEAN will take more solid steps forward in forging a closer community with a shared future.
Xinhua News Agency: The world may never be the same again after COVID-19. How does China view the post-COVID-19 world and the future of globalization?
Wang Yi: The world will certainly not be the same again; history always moves forward. Throughout world history, humanity has progressed by wrestling with one disaster after another. In China’s view, if countries make the right choice and stay on the right path, the world will triumph over the virus and embrace a brighter future.
First, globalization needs to be more inclusive and beneficial to all. Globalization represents an inevitable trend in the development of the world and a strong tide driving human progress. It has turned the global economy into an ocean, to which every river flows. It’s simply not possible to channel the water in the ocean back into isolated lakes. Likewise, attempts to reject globalization and fall back on protectionism will have no future.
Even as we continue to maximize cost efficiency through optimizing global allocation of resources, we must pay more attention to addressing the issues that have accompanied globalization, such as the widening wealth gap and regional imbalances. The solution lies in the further advancement of globalization. This requires us to steer globalization in the right direction. In early 2017, President Xi Jinping gave a speech in Davos in which he comprehensively laid out China’s views on economic globalization and called for making it more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all. Three years on, his words are more relevant and inspiring than ever.
Second, multilateralism must be safeguarded and promoted even more firmly. COVID-19 drives home once again that no country, no matter how strong it is, can insulate itself from a global challenge. When a disaster wreaks havoc, watching from an apparently safe distance and sitting idle will eventually backfire. Pointing fingers at others will only end up damaging one’s own reputation. Self-conceit and blame-shifting, instead of helping any country solve its problems, will only hurt other countries’ legitimate rights and interests. In the face of mounting global challenges, only multilateralism can bring the world together. And only solidarity can see us through the current difficulties.
Third, global governance needs to be reformed and improved where it is most lacking. COVID-19 has exposed weaknesses in national public health systems, the fragility of the global industrial and supply chains, and deficiencies in our global governance capacity and system. It calls for urgent improvement and reform of global governance. The United Nations must play a central role; WHO and other UN specialized agencies must be able to perform their mandates without hindrance. All countries must intensify macro-policy coordination where appropriate and strengthen governance capacity. And we must redouble our commitment to international law and the basic norms of international relations.
The world will never be the same again, and China will never stop moving forward. COVID-19 has been an all-round test on China’s social system and governance capacity. China has stood the test, displayed its composite national strength and shown itself to be a responsible major country. After COVID-19, our economy will emerge stronger and more resilient, our people more united and confident in socialism with Chinese characteristics, and our nation more unstoppable in its march toward rejuvenation.
