US and China have ‘explored the correct way to get along,’ top diplomat says

China and the US must ‘set an example’ amid multiple challenges, Wang Yi says

China’s top diplomat has said Beijing and Washington have found the “correct way” to engage with each other and has called for the two nations to pursue dialogue rather than confrontation.

Wang Yi was newly appointed as the head of the Communist Party’s foreign affairs office on Friday and made his first public remarks since his elevation to the top job in an essay published in the official party journal Seeking Truth.

Mr Wang was replaced as China’s foreign minister by Qin Gang, former ambassador to the US, but is widely expected to retain a prominent role in foreign policy after his promotion in October to the Communist Party’s Politburo, the country’s top decision-making body.

In the essay, he said China and the US must “set an example” in the face of multiple challenges, citing his country’s strong cooperation with Russia throughout 2022, and avoid mistakes made during the Cold War.

“Over the past year, we have unremittingly explored the correct way for the two major countries of China and the United States to get along with each other,” he wrote.

“The two countries should establish a way of getting along with mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation and put China-US relations back on the right track of health and stability,” he said.

Mr Wang's stint as foreign minister saw a sharp rise in tensions between Beijing and Washington on a wide range of issues ranging from trade to Taiwan.

On 23 December, Mr Wang, in his role as foreign minister, accused the US of an “old routine of unilateral bullying” in a telephone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

He said in his Sunday essay that Taiwan remained at the “core of China's core interests” and the “foundation” on which China's political relationship with the US is built.

Recent months have seen an escalation in tensions over Taiwan, with China carrying out repeated military drills near the Taiwan strait following US speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island nation in August.

The US, however, has maintained it continues to follow the one-China policy.