BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday at the latter's request.
Wang said Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden via video link on Nov. 16, noting that the meeting, keenly followed by the whole world, is of great significance not just for China-U.S. relations, but also for international relations.
It is the shared hope of the two peoples and the international community that the meeting will yield outcomes beneficial to both countries and the world, and the helmsmanship of the two heads of state plays a key role in steering bilateral relations, according to the senior Chinese diplomat.
The two sides, he suggested, should work in the same direction and make every preparation to ensure a smooth and successful meeting and bring bilateral relations back onto the track of sound and steady development.
Blinken, for his part, said that the world is following closely the virtual meeting between the U.S. and Chinese heads of state.
Both sides have made full preparation and are making progress, the secretary of state said, adding that the U.S. side looks forward to sharing views on bilateral ties with the Chinese side during the meeting in the spirit of mutual respect and jointly send a strong message to the world.
In response to the U.S. side's recent wrong words and deeds on the Taiwan question, Wang further elaborated on China's solemn position.
Both history and reality have fully proven that "Taiwan independence" is the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and any connivance of and support for the "Taiwan independence" forces undermines peace across the Taiwan Strait and would only boomerang in the end, the Chinese foreign minister stressed.
If the U.S. side truly wants to safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait, then it should clearly and resolutely oppose any "Taiwan independence" moves, abide by the solemn commitments it made in the three China-U.S. joint communiques and put the one-China policy into action and stop sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" forces, he added.
The two sides also exchanged views on issues including energy security, climate change, and the Iranian nuclear issue, and agreed to maintain dialogue on responding to all kinds of global challenges.
