China Ready to ‘Coexist Peacefully' With US Despite Being Labelled 'Greatest Political Challenge'

As tensions mount between Beijing and Washington, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called on the United States to stop spreading the outdated theory of a Chinese threat and urged that China be seen as a partner for mutually beneficial cooperation.

China’s leader Xi Jinping has said that his country is ready to engage with the United States in an effort to help foster global stability, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

"China is willing to work with the United States to respect each other, coexist peacefully and achieve win-win cooperation, and find the right way for China and the US to get along in the new era, which will not only benefit both countries, but also the world," the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party said in a letter to the National Committee on US-China Relations.

As Xi sent his congratulatory message to the committee’s annual Gala Dinner, he pointed out that China-US cooperation could be conducive to boosting stability globally and promoting world peace.

He also thanked the committee for its work in "actively promoting" the development of relations between the two countries. Xi also voiced his appreciation to the committee members for actively promoting exchanges between China and the US and cooperation in various fields.

US President Joe Biden also sent a congratulatory message to the event, according to the report. Earlier, during a meeting with his senior military advisers on 26 October, Biden said the US “does not seek conflict” with China, adding that the Chinese leader was aware of this, US media reported.

The exchange of statements comes as the US national security strategy continues to declare that “the [People’s Republic of China] represents America’s most consequential political challenge”.

Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, in a speech at Georgetown University in October, said the 2020s would be a "decisive decade for America and the world", adding: "We will prioritize maintaining an enduring competitive edge over the [People's Republic of China].”

China was declared to be “the only competitor with both the intention to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to advance that objective".

As a new set of tensions emerge between China and the US, the issue of Taiwan - a self-ruled island that Beijing considers an inalienable part of its territory - has repeatedly soured relations. Despite the US shifting its recognition of the legitimate Chinese government from Taipei to Beijing in 1978, it has continued to maintain contacts with Taipei and funnel weapons worth billions of dollars to the self-governing island.

After US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in early August in a move described by China as a provocative gesture of support for separatism, Beijing was prompted to launch large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island. Other high-level US delegations have since visited Taiwan, with Beijing reiterating that the One-China principle is a political foundation of China-US relations. Violations by Washington of its own obligations have jeopardized cooperation between the two countries, Chinese authorities warned. At the recent 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, who secured a third term in power, said that the "wheels of history are rolling on towards China’s reunification [with Taiwan]".

A spokesman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office echoed this statement, saying on 26 October at a press briefing that China was closer than ever to “complete reunification of the motherland”.

Besides the Taiwan issue, the US notched up its stand-off with China in the sphere of technology. In an effort to counter China’s growing technical clout last month, Washington clamped down on the Asian giant’s access to semiconductors and chip-making equipment, citing concerns they could be used for military purposes.

Companies will no longer be allowed to supply advanced computing chips, chip-making equipment and other products to China unless they receive a special license, stated the package of restrictions released by the US Commerce Department. US President Joe Biden also signed an executive order to implement the $280Bln CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which includes more than $52Bln in subsidies for US semiconductor manufacturers.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin denounced the restrictions in a press briefing, saying they were “doomed to failure” and accused Washington of “attempting to use its technological privileges to curb and suppress the advancement of emerging economies and developing countries”.

Amid the recent moves and Washington's rhetoric towards China, Beijing has urged the US to stop spreading the "outdated" theory of the Chinese threat.

"China is a partner and presents an opportunity for the development of all countries, not a challenge or a threat," Wang said on Wednesday at a briefing, adding that Washington would do better to try to build a new concept of openness, inclusiveness, and mutually beneficial cooperation.