1st LD-Writethru: China, U.S. should respect each other's core interests, avoid conflicts: Chinese FM

BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States should respect each other's core and major interests, and avoid falling into confrontation and conflict, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing on Wednesday.

He called on the two sides to establish more channels for communication and consultation, view each other with an objective, rational and pragmatic attitude, and foster correct strategic perceptions.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with a delegation of the Board of Directors of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC).

He said that no matter how the situation changes, China has maintained the continuity and stability of its policy towards the United States, and China will handle and advance its relations with the U.S. in accordance with three principles: mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.

China is willing to strengthen contact with the United States to avoid misjudgment, control differences, explore cooperation, implement the consensus reached between their two heads of state, and promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, he said.

He also urged adhering to the principles of respect, equality and reciprocity and refraining from unilateral hegemony, calling for doing more big, practical and good things for the benefits of the two countries and the world.

Wang noted that China will expand its high-level opening-up and build a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and internationalized. China hopes that U.S. companies will continue to be optimistic about China and invest in the country to achieve mutual benefits and common growth, he added.

China hopes that the U.S. business community will take on the role of conveying correct perceptions of China, cultivate friendship between the Chinese and U.S. peoples, and practice mutually beneficial cooperation, making new and positive contributions to the development of China-U.S. relations and the friendship between the two peoples, he said.

The delegation included USCBC Board Chair Rajesh Subramaniam; Thermo Fisher Scientific Chairman Marc N. Casper; Otis Worldwide Corporation Chair Judy Marks; Goldman Sachs President and COO John E. Waldron; Senior Vice President of the Boeing Company and President of Boeing Global Brendan Nelson; founder and Vice Chair of United Family Healthcare Roberta Lipson; Apple Inc. COO Sabih Khan; and USCBC President Sean Stein.

They said that the U.S.-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world today, and that the good, far-sighted interaction between the two countries' heads of state has provided guidance and impetus for the development of bilateral relations.

The U.S. business community will continue to take root in China and deepen its presence, expanding cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, technological innovation, green development and health care, they said, noting that they will participate in China's high-quality development and promote further connectivity between China and the world.

USCBC is committed to actively leveraging its influence to expand bilateral economic and trade cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchange, enhance mutual understanding, and advance the U.S.-China relationship towards a more vigorous, balanced and mutually beneficial direction, they said. Enditem