China and the US should have an “objective” understanding of their strategic intentions

BEIJING (Reuters) – China and the United States should have an objective understanding of each other’s strategic intentions and properly assess competitive factors in future exchanges, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the ministry, was speaking at a regular news conference when asked about China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, who said the road to a meeting between the countries’ leaders in San Francisco would not be smooth.

China’s foreign minister met with U.S. President Joe Biden and his top aides in Washington in recent days and agreed to work together toward an expected bilateral meeting on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum summit.

“Wang Yi pointed out that looking back on the difficult course of Sino-US relations since the beginning of this year, it is worth summarizing the experience and drawing lessons from it,” said ministry spokesman Wang.

Highlighting the talks, the ministry spokesman said China’s top diplomat stressed that the most important thing is to adhere to the consensus of the two leaders, stabilize bilateral relations between China and the United States and maintain open channels of communication.

China and the United States also agreed to hold consultations on maritime affairs as well as arms control and nonproliferation in the coming days, the spokesman said.

(Reporting by Liz Lee; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Christopher Cushing)