China's foreign minister calls for friendlier relations with the U.S.
March 7, 2012
International relations between China and the U.S. have been tense, but China's foreign minister Yang Jiechi asserted to reporters at an annual conference that the relationship is continuing to grow and improve. The Associated Press reports the push for even friendlier terms may be due to the upcoming leadership change.
"China is committed to peaceful development. We hope that the United States will see China's development in the right and objective way and take more steps to increase our mutual trust," Yang said, according to the AFP. "China welcomes a constructive role played by the United States for peace, stability and prosperity in the region and we hope that the United States will respect China's interests and concerns in the region."
Yang is referring to Taiwan and Tibet in particular, and he calls for U.S. officials to distance themselves from the Dalai Llama, Tibet's spiritual leader. He also wants them to discontinue selling arms to Taiwan.
U.S. President Barack Obama recently put military focus on the Asia-Pacific region, which caused unrest among Chinese officials. However, Yang claims his country wants to work together to move forward and make the two nations allies, according to the news source.
Those who want to know more about Yang's declaration and the latest political news can make calls to China to talk to their friends about current events.