Biden: US, China must cooperate
June 23, 2015
The United States and China must be "honest and direct" about future ties, US Vice President Joe Biden said on Tuesday. Biden was speaking in front of about 400 Chinese officials, who came to Washington for the annual US-China Security and Economic Dialogue hosted by Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang agreed that the two countries did not agree on everything, stating: "On some issues consensus still eludes us." However, China and the US "must not follow old paths of confrontation and conflict," he stressed.
DW's US correspondent Richard Walker was at the high-level talks, and tweeted that Kerry had pointed out that the two sides wouldn't always agree.
World's waterways must remain 'open and protected'
Biden delivered a warning to Beijing amid territorial disputes with Asian neighbors over the South and East China Seas, stressing that the world's waterways must remain "open and protected" for trade.
"Responsible countries adhere to international law and work together to keep international sea lanes open for unimpaired commerce. Eighty percent of all the commerce today is on the back of a ship somewhere floating on the oceans," Biden said.
Washington had repeatedly urged Beijing to stop building artificial islands in the area.
China said last month it would project its military power further beyond its borders at sea and more assertively in the air.
Washington also expressed concern about cyber security after attacks on US government computers that US officials have blamed on Chinese hackers. Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said that China was willing to work with the United States and other countries on security issues.
das/cmk (AFP, Reuters)