Xi Jinping receives delegation from US Congress to reduce tensions

In a bid to strengthen relations between China and the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with a US Congressional delegation led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in Beijing on Monday ( 9). During the meeting, Xi expressed his desire to promote “peaceful coexistence” between the two nations and highlighted the importance of Sino-US relations for the global future.

“We have 1,000 reasons to make China-US relations work well, and there is no single reason to make these relations bad,” Xi said during a meeting with the Democratic senator from New York.

China’s Foreign Ministry reported that Xi emphasized that ties between China and the US are “the most important bilateral relations in the world” and that how these two nations relate to each other will have a significant impact on the fate of humanity. He emphasized that competition and confrontation are not in line with the current trend and that the common interests between China and the US outweigh differences.

The meeting came amid efforts by Beijing and Washington to organize a meeting between their respective presidents in November. The six-member bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation is visiting China, marking the first visit by U.S. lawmakers to the Asian country in four years.

During the meeting, Schumer stated that the United States does not seek conflict or isolation from China, but is willing to strengthen dialogue and communication, managing bilateral relations responsibly. He also mentioned concerns from US lawmakers about China’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Schumer warned that China should not align itself with Russia, referring to deepening cooperation between Beijing and Moscow. China has opposed sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and other Western nations. China’s position in the conflict between Israel and Hamas was also discussed, with Schumer calling on China to support Israel.

After meeting with Xi, US lawmakers also met with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and shared the view that the world’s two largest economies should avoid conflict. Wang expressed hope that the visit will help the US better understand China and bring bilateral relations back to the path of sound development.

He also called on the two countries to “respect each other’s fundamental interests” – a reference to issues including Taiwan, a self-ruled island that China considers its own – and avoid letting their differences cause confrontation or conflict. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022 generated a huge Chinese reaction, following a long tradition of US respect for not recognizing Taiwan’s independence.

The US delegation’s trip to China is part of a series of high-level communications between the two countries, which face significant tensions on economic and diplomatic issues. The delegation also plans to visit South Korea and Japan as part of its mission to advance U.S. economic and national security interests in the region.

Sino-US relations continue to be an important focus in international politics, and the possibility of a meeting between Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in November during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum leaders’ meeting, will be closely monitored as a potential milestone in bilateral relations.