Speaking at the National Committee on US-China Relations on August 31 in Washington, on the
50th anniversary of Dr Henry Kissinger's 'secret' visits to China, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S.
Qin Gang said there are three wrong beliefs on China-US relations in the United States. He
enumerated these as: Some people believe that China is betting against America, and China's goal
is to challenge and displace America. This is a serious misjudgement of China's strategic
intention; Some people believe that America needs to deal with China from a position of strength.
They think America can win the new "Cold War" against China, just as it defeated the Soviet
Union. This reflects a serious ignorance of history and China. He elaborated that "China is not the
Soviet Union. The Soviet Union's collapse was its own making. The Communist Party of the Soviet
Union had been rigid, corrupt, closed to the outside world, and detached from the people. It had
been obsessed with arms race and external aggression"; and Some people believe that cooperation
is being phased out by competition and confrontation. This is a very misleading perception for the
prospects of China-US relations. Elaborating, he said, "the need for China-US cooperation is not
decreasing, but increasing. Our two countries should not be enemies, but partners. Over 70,000
American companies have investments in China, and these investments pay well. According to the
latest report of the US-China Business Council, 95% of the American companies surveyed made
a profit in China last year, and 64% saw their revenue grow in the Chinese market". Qin Gang
urged the US and China to abide by three principles for cooperation and mutual benefit
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namely, First, the two sides should be clear about each other's bottom lines and show mutual
respect. Second, the two sides should maintain dialogue and manage differences and third, the two
sides should remove disturbances and focus on cooperation. Referring particularly to the
Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 and the EAGLES Act, he cautioned that "They
underestimate the common interests between the two countries. If they become laws, they will
hijack China-US relations and gravely damage America's own interests".
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