Beijing has maintained stability of ties, US guests told

China's policy toward the United States "maintains continuity and stability", and Washington should "take practical actions to implement the consensus made between the two heads of state" last year in Bali, Indonesia, a senior Chinese diplomat said.

Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, made the comments when meeting with US guests in Beijing on Monday.

The guests are Jacob Lew, chairman of the board of directors of the National Committee on US-China Relations; Maurice Greenberg, vice-chairman of the committee's board; and Steve Orlins, the committee's president, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.

Wang said the US should fulfill "the commitment it made many times" and move toward the same goal with China to promote the stability and improvement of China-US relations.

He said that China "always follows the principle of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as proposed by President Xi Jinping".

He called on the US to "effectively respect China's legitimate right to development, abide by the one-China principle and secure the political foundation of China-US relations".

Wang stressed that the root cause of the difficulties in China-US relations lies in the US' serious error in perceiving and positioning of China, which led to the wrongful measures it took against China.

"This is not in line with the times' trend of development and progress, and also runs counter to the expectations of the international community," he said.

Lew said the US and China are interdependent, and it is not viable to seek "decoupling" of the two countries.

US guests said the National Committee on US-China Relations supports the two countries to make communication channels available in various fields. They said it will continue to be committed to promoting frank dialogue and exchanges between the two sides and promoting the development of US-China relations in a positive direction.

Wang noted that President Xi once pointed out that China-US relations are based on the public, and Xi said "we always place our hopes on the American people" and hope that the two peoples will continue to be friendly.

The National Committee on US-China Relations "has for a long time played a constructive role in promoting mutual understanding between the two peoples", Wang said.

"Under the current situation, it is hoped that the committee will continue to be a propeller that helps stabilize China-US relations, a promoter of friendly exchanges and a communicator that spreads the genuine story of mutually beneficial cooperation," he added.