Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in a U.S. visit to discuss sensitive issues such as the South China dispute and North Korea's rocket launches. (Photo : REUTERS)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to visit the United States this week, a move which is seen to boost "pragmatic cooperation," according to China Daily.
Ahead of the foreign minister's visit, however, China hit back at U.S. criticism that the country is promoting militarization with its presence on the South China Sea, hinting about the U.S.'s own defense deployment in Hawaii.
"China's deploying necessary, limited defensive facilities on its own territory is not substantively different from the U.S. defending Hawaii," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday, Feb. 21.
During the daily news conference in Beijing, Hua confirmed that Wang will visit the U.S. from Tuesday, Feb. 22, to Thursday, Feb. 25. The visit is expected "to deepen pragmatic cooperation and to constructively tackle sensitive issues," the spokeswoman said.
The report said the visit will likely result in a third meeting within the month, between Wang and his counterpart, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Hua said that "China and the U.S. are expected to exchange views on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue during Wang's visit," in response to the impending U.N. sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on its rocket launches.
Hua added that the parties are urged to bring the nuclear issue back to dialogue, to discuss a dual mechanism for the denuclearization of the peninsula and a shift from truce to peace.
Diplomatic contacts between Beijing and Washington stepped up after a U.S. Navy warship's incursion into China's territorial waters in the South China Sea and Pyongyang's nuclear test.
On Jan. 27, Kerry visited China and talked with Wang in Beijing. The two met again in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 12.
When asked what message Beijing will send to Washington on the South China Sea, Hua said that China expects the U.S. to be "fully committed to its promise of not taking positions on the relevant disputes."
Hua added that the U.S. should "stop hyping the South China Sea issue and the tense atmosphere there" and should play a "constructive" role in the region rather than "making an issue."
Teng Jianqun, a senior research fellow on U.S. studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said that Wang's visit is "needed and helpful" for more dialogue to tackle the issues, adding that the U.S. forces "possibly will remain tough and will continue challenging China militarily as they have done recently."
Aside from addressing the hot spots, the meeting will also set the senior diplomats for annual bilateral events, such as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, and discuss expected contacts between leaders on international occasions, Teng added.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies said on its website that Wang is set to address the think tank's "Statesmen's Forum" on Thursday morning local time.
Wang will join a discussion on Chinese foreign policy and U.S.-China relations, the center said.
Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, said that competition and cooperation co-exist in China-U.S. ties, and the reinforced competition in the South China Sea brings no change to such a big picture.
"The situation in the South China Sea is controllable, and so will it be in the future," Jin said, as the U.S. allies in the region, unlike the U.S., are not likely to resort to military action.
