WASHINGTON: Differences between the United States and China over the South China Sea and cybersecurity should not be addressed by "microphone diplomacy" but in "a proper way" to allow for a successful US visit by President Xi Jinping this year, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Wednesday.
Wu Xi, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Washington, said individual issues should not be allowed to overshadow the overall US-China relationship and that common interests, including bilateral trade volume of $550 billion (£354.63 billion) last year, "far outweigh" differences between the countries.
"Resorting to microphone diplomacy, or pointing fingers at each other, will not solve any problems," Wu told a meeting on Capitol Hill to mark the 10th anniversary of the US Congress's US-China Working Group.
"The right choice is to recognise our differences, respect each other and engage in real dialogue," she said. "The choice we make today will decide the future of our two great nations, as well as the entire world."
Wu was referring to disagreements between Washington and Beijing over China's increasingly assertive pursuit of territorial claims in the South China Sea, which have raised fears of military confrontation, and a massive cyber attack on the US government that US officials have blamed on Chinese hackers.
China has called the hacking allegations irresponsible and says it has the right to build artificial islands in contested territory.
Wu said the two sides should use the annual meeting of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue from June 22-24, and a US visit this week of a top Chinese military official, "to articulate the outcome and deliverables" for Xi's September visit to Washington.
"We need to address our differences in a proper way," she told reporters.
Wu said she did not see any US-China "tensions," as the countries shared a common interest in peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and always discussed differences.
"We have no alternative but to succeed in the interests of our two nations and the world," she said.
US Representative Rick Larson, a co-founder of the bi-partisan Working Group, said that as the world's two largest economies, the United States and China "cannot afford not to engage."
At the same time, he called the South China Sea and "indications" that the cyber attack originated in China "very challenging" issues that could not be pushed to one side.
"We can't mask those, we can't hide from those," he said.
Wu Xi, deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Washington, said individual issues should not be allowed to overshadow the overall US-China relationship and that common interests, including bilateral trade volume of $550 billion (£354.63 billion) last year, "far outweigh" differences between the countries.
"The right choice is to recognise our differences, respect each other and engage in real dialogue," she said. "The choice we make today will decide the future of our two great nations, as well as the entire world."
Advertisement
China has called the hacking allegations irresponsible and says it has the right to build artificial islands in contested territory.
Advertisement
"We need to address our differences in a proper way," she told reporters.
Advertisement
"We have no alternative but to succeed in the interests of our two nations and the world," she said.
Advertisement
At the same time, he called the South China Sea and "indications" that the cyber attack originated in China "very challenging" issues that could not be pushed to one side.
Advertisement
© Thomson Reuters 2015
COMMENTS
Advertisement
BMW To Recall 1.4 Million Cars In China Over Faulty Airbags China's Driverless 'Robotaxis': Sci-fi Marvels Or Safety Concerns? Chinese Woman's Refusal To Stow Louis Vuitton Bag Causes Major Flight Delay, Goes Viral Parents Gave Names Of Interns, Doctors To CBI In Kolkata Horror: Sources Who Is Jasveen Sangha, "Ketamine Queen" Charged With Matthew Perry's Death How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan 80 Killed In Paramilitary Attack In Sudan OpenAI Blocks Iranian Group's ChatGPT Accounts For Targeting US Election Blinken Heading To Israel To Press Gaza Truce Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.