China to uphold peace, facilitate co-op

The priorities of China’s diplomacy this year are to uphold peace and tackle thorny regional and international issues through dialogues, consultation and negotiation responsibly, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told reporters at a press conference during the nation’s annual parliamentary session on Tuesday.

Yang said China expects relevant neighboring countries to peacefully handle and resolve differences and disagreements with China through dialogue and negotiation.

Yang said that maintaining sound relations between China and the United States is the common responsibility of both countries and complies with the overall interests of the international community.

He called on the United States to cautiously and properly handle issues related to China’s core interests such as those related to Taiwan and Tibet.

To develop China-US relations, both countries should always stick to the principles laid down in the three Sino-US joint communiques and the Sino-US joint statement, and respect each other’s core interests and major concerns

China has kept close communication with the United States on the issues of Syria and Iran, he said.

Yang said that the Iran nuclear issue should be resolved through dialogues and cooperation but not confrontations and sanctions.