International Focus Magazine iF-Oct 2019 | Page 13

win-win in nature.
However, since last year, the trade
frictions between the two countries
have already left serious negative im-
pacts on economic cooperation as
well as on bilateral relations. China’s
position is clear and constant, that is
we are “not wanting a trade war, not
being afraid of one, and having to
fight one when necessary”. Yesterday
at the Argus Methanol Forum I made
a comprehensive illustration. Same
day on September 11th, China un-
veiled the first set of lists of US goods
to be excluded from the first round
of additional tariffs on US Products.
The exemption, which covers two
lists with 16 categories of goods,
will be valid from Sept. 17, 2019, to
Sept. 16, 2020. I also have noted the
US side has announced to postpone
adding new tariffs on 250 billion US
dollars worth of Chinese goods. A
gesture of good will.
Over the past 4 decades, the global
implications of China-US relations
have been increasing. China and the
US have conducted communication
and cooperation on many major in-
ternational and regional issues such
as anti-terrorism, non-proliferation,
Korean Peninsular nuclear issue, en-
vironmental protection as well as
epidemic prevention and treatment.
Yesterday was the 18th anniver-
sary of the September 11th tragedy.
It was a time of grievance not only
for Americans but also for all peace-
loving people around the world. We
share the pains. Immediately after we
learned of the terrorist attack, Chi-
nese President Jiang Zemin called
President George W. Bush, expressed
the Chinese support to American
people in combating terrorism. From
then on, China and the US have con-
ducted fruitful cooperation in anti-
terrorism.
In fighting against opioid crimes, in
the first half of this year, at the re-
quest of the US government, China
started class scheduling of all fentan-
yl-like substances. It showcases that
China attaches great importance to
the US concerns, and will fulfill its
responsibility in taking part in global
counter-narcotics efforts.
How could we have made those
achievements possible? One of the
fundamentals is China and US view
each others’ development as its own
opportunity, and treat each other as
friends or partners, rather than rival-
ries or enemies. Every time when the
two countries focused on the overall
picture of bilateral relations and stuck
to the general direction of coopera-
tion, we would make more progress
in bilateral relations. Dr. Henry Kiss-
inger once said “having had the op-
portunity to participate in the Sino-
American relationship for forty years,
I believe strongly that both countries
have a duty to the peace and progress
of the world, to find means of coop-
eration to solve the important prob-
lems they have before them.”
Mutual respect is the premises of a
stable China-US relationship. The
two countries have differences or
even frictions in terms of historical
tradition, social systems, and develop-
ment stages. It is natural. But the key
is that we must respect each others’
core interests and concerns and ad-
dress those difference respectfully. For
instance, on the Taiwan issue, the US
should stay committed to the One-
China Principle and the three Joint
Communiques, and respect China’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Another example, Xinjiang is a part
of China. We firmly oppose the pas-
sage of the so-called Uyghur Human
Rights Policy Act of 2019 by the US
Senate.
The third example, the Hong Kong
related issue. Since Hong Kong’s re-
turn to the motherland, the policy
of “One country, Two systems” and
Hong Kong people governing Hong
Kong with a high degree of autono-
my has been faithfully implemented.
Hong Kong is now facing the most
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