Xi: China not to fight cold war or hot war with anyone

China will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone, said Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco on Wednesday.

“Whatever stage of development it may reach, China will never pursue hegemony or expansion, and will never impose its will on others,” Xi said at a welcome dinner.

“China does not seek spheres of influence, and will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone,” said the Chinese president.

Five years ago at the APEC CEO Summit, President Xi had pointed out the same point of view regarding China-US relations. He said: “History has shown that confrontation, whether in the form of a cold war, a hot war or a trade war, will produce no winners. If nations treat each other with equality, mutual understanding, and concessions, there are no problems that cannot be resolved through negotiation.”

In the speech at the welcome dinner, President Xi reiterated China’s diplomatic philosophy of seeking peace and harmony. He said China is the only major country that has written peaceful development into the Constitution of the country and the Constitution of the governing party, thus making peaceful development a commitment of the nation. It benefits from and safeguards the current international order. 

He emphasized that peaceful coexistence is a basic norm for international relations, and is even more of a baseline that China and the United States should hold on to as two major countries.