China\u2019s foreign minister said Tuesday that Beijing and Washington can achieve \u201cmany great things\u201d if they work together, ahead of next month\u2019s inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump. But top diplomat Wang Yi also warned against what he called the US\u2019 \u201ccrude interference\u201d on the issue of Taiwan. The world\u2019s two largest economies have butted heads on a range of issues in recent years, from trade and technology to human rights and China\u2019s growing assertiveness towards the self-ruled island of Taiwan. Wang said China\u2019s policy towards the United States \u201chas not changed\u201d during a Tuesday address in Beijing that reflected on the country\u2019s diplomatic work in the past year and its expectations for the future. He said that economic working groups and cooperation on cross-border drug control \u201cfully prove that as long as China and the United States cooperate, we can accomplish many great things\u201d. He also, however, repeated a warning over Taiwan, saying Beijing \u201cresolutely opposed illegal and unreasonable suppression by the United States, especially its crude interference in China\u2019s internal affairs\u201d including the status of the self-ruled island. \u201cWe must take a firm and strong response, resolutely defend our own legitimate rights and interests, and safeguard the basic norms of international relations,\u201d Wang said. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has said it will never renounce using force to seize it one day, while the US has a longstanding arrangement to provide Taipei with the means to defend itself. Taiwanese officials said last week that China had held its biggest maritime drills around the island in years, deploying around 90 ships from near the southern islands of Japan to the South China Sea and simulating attacks on foreign vessels and sea route blockades. Beijing never confirmed the drills, but a defence ministry spokesman said that \u201cwhether or not we hold exercises, and when we hold them, are decided by us alone\u201d. The China-US relationship may sour further after Trump is inaugurated on January 20, with the president-elect vowing more tariffs to punish what he calls unfair trade practices by China \u2014 something Beijing firmly denies. Wang said Beijing hoped the Trump administration would \u201cmake the right choices, work with China in the same direction, eliminate disruptions, overcome obstacles, and strive for stable, healthy, and sustainable development of bilateral relations\u201d. \u2018Turbulence and change\u2019 But Wang also used his speech to paint a darker picture of an increasingly conflict-ridden world. \u201cThe global landscape is marked by intertwined turbulence and change, with geopolitical conflicts dragging on and escalating, and decoupling and supply chain disruptions growing increasingly severe,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the face of global turbulence and conflict, China will firmly remain a force for peace,\u201d he added. Wang highlighted Beijing\u2019s diplomatic work over the past year, noting its mediation in July of a \u201cnational unity\u201d deal between Palestinian factions including Hamas and Fatah to rule Gaza together after the conflict there ends. On Syria, where rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ousted longtime rule Bashar al-Assad this month, Wang said China would \u201ccontinue to stand with the Syrian people (and) uphold the principles of Syrian leadership and ownership\u201d. \u201c(We) oppose terrorist forces taking advantage of the situation to create chaos, and support Syria in safeguarding its sovereignty and restoring stability,\u201d he added. Wang also said China would maintain a \u201chigh level of strategic mutual trust\u201d with Russia, despite widespread criticism from Western countries that Beijing has provided diplomatic and economic cover for Moscow to wage a war of aggression in Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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