Ambassador Xie Feng delivers a speech at the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024

Ambassador Xie said that the two sides need to first jointly develop a right perception toward each other. China never bets against the United States, and never interferes in its internal affairs, including elections. We are willing to be partners and friends with the United States. Is the US side also ready to do the same?

Second, we need to jointly manage disagreements effectively. If the US side keeps interfering with China's internal affairs and damaging China's interests on issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Xizang and the South China Sea, how could the two sides ever put a floor under the relationship, no matter how many guardrails there may be?

Third, we need to jointly advance mutually beneficial cooperation. If the two sides had focused solely on differences and competition half a century ago, how could we have reopened our doors to each other? And how could this relationship have brought huge peace and development dividends to both countries and the world over the past 45 years? Some people, though, stress the importance of a free market when they get the upper hand, but resort to protectionism when they are outperformed. Is this fair?

Fourth, we need to jointly shoulder responsibilities as major countries. Global public goods offered by China are open to all sides. We are willing to coordinate with the United States, and jointly explore third-party market cooperation. Will the US side also welcome China to be part of its multilateral initiatives?

Fifth, we need to jointly promote people-to-people exchanges. Now that our leaders have agreed to increase people-to-people exchanges, why should all the barriers in travel, visa and border policies still be there? During the era of mutual estrangement and antagonism from 1949 to 1971, trade between China and the United States was almost zero, and our citizens had to get stapled visas to visit each other's country. In a globalized world today, why should we backpedal and return to the past?