In a high-stakes bilateral meeting held Wednesday in Manila, Philippines, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has pushed back against a recent string of antagonistic statements and actions from the United States, issuing a clear call for Washington to respect Beijing’s core interests, uphold the long-standing one-China principle, effectively manage bilateral disagreements, and address China’s fully legitimate concerns. The meeting, which brought together Wang – who also serves as a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee – and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, comes at a critical turning point for China-US relations. Wang opened the discussion by noting that 2026 marks a pivotal juncture after the landmark Beijing summit between the two nations’ heads of state, during which top leaders laid out a clear roadmap for building a constructive, strategically stable bilateral relationship. This agreed-upon direction, Wang emphasized, represents meaningful progress for the two global powers as they work to navigate peaceful coexistence. It aligns with the core interests of both the Chinese and American people, and matches the widespread hopes of the broader international community for stable great power relations. Today, the shared task for both sides is to remain firmly on the path charted by their leaders, Wang argued, urging the US to work with China to push past distractions and unnecessary barriers. Turning the consensus reached at the highest level into actionable policy and mutual understanding across all levels of government and societal sectors, he said, remains the urgent priority going forward. Wang further noted that productive, well-managed relations between China and the US can deliver global public goods: through bilateral strategic stability, the two countries can advance broader world peace and security, and constructive engagement can open new doors for global collective action on pressing shared challenges. Beyond bilateral topics, the two top diplomats also exchanged detailed views on a range of pressing international and regional hotspot issues. Following the closed-door discussions, both sides characterized the meeting as pragmatic, positive, and constructive. They reached a shared agreement to maintain open and functional political and diplomatic communication channels, put in place thorough preparations for the next round of high-level China-US exchanges, and continue working toward substantive progress in building the agreed-upon constructive and strategically stable bilateral relationship.
Chinese FM urges US to properly manage differences, address China’s legitimate concerns
