NEW YORK: China is willing to open up dialogues with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and jointly promote bilateral ties towards healthy and stable development, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.
Wang made the remarks when meeting with Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg, during the ongoing UN General Assembly in New York, adding that both sides should strengthen communication and understanding and prevent misleading and false information, in the spirit of candid attitude and mutual respect.
China holds the best record in peace and security issues, Wang said, and has never invaded other countries, started a proxy war, sought sphere of influence, exported ideology, interfered with other countries’ internal affairs or participated in military groups.
Ensuring the peaceful development paths by law, China hopes NATO to establish rational and correct perception towards China, and handle the current international situation with an objective and calm attitude, instead of simply drawing a line with “political correctness”, Wang said, adding that China is ready to hold hands with NATO to carry out necessary cooperation on global issues and contribute to global peace and stability.
For his part, Stoltenberg recognized China’s global power with constant economic development and escalating influence, adding that NATO attaches great important to maintaining and strengthening contact with China, and actively develops relations with China.
Stoltenberg said NATO will stick to the established geographical range and discuss cooperation with China in the fields of arms control and climate change, to better deal with global challenges. NATO and its member states firmly adhere to the one-China principle and remain unchanging stance on the Taiwan question, he added, and expect China to play an important role in ending the conflict in Europe.
