By Kris Crismundo/PNA
BEIJING – China’s top political advisory body believes the shared interests of China and the United States outweigh the “inevitable differences” of the two countries.
Speaking to the media prior to the opening session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on Sunday, spokesperson of the second session of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC Guo Weimin said the relationship between China and the US is at a “critically important stage”.
Guo added the CPPCC welcomes the substantial progress in the recent trade talks between China and the US. The two sides made substantive progress in their discussions in the areas of technology transfer, intellectual property, non-tariff barriers, services, agriculture, and exchange rate.
He said China-US trade discussions are progressing as the two countries have shared interests of peace, stability, global development, and prosperity.
These shared interests are outweighing the “inevitable differences” between the two countries, Guo said.
“[D]ue to our respective histories and culture, social system and stages of development, differences are inevitable between China and the US. But our shared interests far outweigh our differences and the need for cooperation far outnumbered our frictions,” he said.
“As we have seen so often, we both gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Cooperation is the best choice for both sides,” the CPPCC member stressed.
Guo said a healthy and stable relation between China and the US is what the international community wants to see.
The two countries will act upon the principles and directions of President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, expanding cooperation on the basis of mutual benefits, manage differences based on mutual respect, Guo added.
