Chinese premier meets U.S. treasury secretary

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Beijing.

Li said the world needs a generally stable China-U.S. relationship, and whether the two countries can find the right way to get along is of significance to the future of humanity. Last year, the two heads of state met in Bali and reached a series of important understandings, charting the course for China-U.S. relations. Mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation are the basic principles of state-to-state interactions, and also the right way for countries to get along with each other.

"Chinese culture values peace above everything else, as opposed to hegemony and bullying," Li said. It is hoped that the U.S. side will adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude, and work with China in the same direction to push bilateral relations back onto the right track at an early date.

Noting that the economic interests of China and the United States are closely intertwined, Li said that mutual benefits are the essence of China-U.S. economic relations, and strengthening cooperation is the realistic demand of and right choice for both sides.

"China's development is an opportunity rather than a challenge for the United States, and a gain rather than a risk," Li said. He added that politicizing economic cooperation or overstretching the concept of security on such cooperation does no good for the economic development of the two countries and the whole world.

Li called on both sides to strengthen communication and seek consensus on important bilateral economic issues through candid, in-depth and pragmatic exchanges. He called on the two countries to inject stability and positive energy into China-U.S. economic relations. China and the United States should strengthen coordination and cooperation, work together to cope with global challenges, and promote common development.

Yellen said the U.S. side does not seek to decouple or sever supply chains, and has no intention of hindering China's modernization process.

She expressed the willingness to implement the understandings reached by the two heads of state in Bali, strengthen communication, avoid misunderstandings caused by differences, strengthen cooperation on stabilizing the macro economy and addressing global challenges, and seek mutual benefits between the two economies.