Secretary Clinton at ASEAN Bali: Remarks With Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi

Remarks With Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi Before Their Meeting


Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Bali, Indonesia
July 22, 2011

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, it is a pleasure to see you again, and to see you here at this important meeting. We have much to discuss when it comes to our bilateral relationship, as well as regional and global issues. I think we will review the progress that we have made since the excellent meeting that our presidents held during President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington. And, of course, I extend greetings to him from President Obama.

We will also have a chance to review the work we did at the strategic and economic dialogue that furthered our cooperation in a number of critical areas. And I want to commend China and ASEAN for working so closely together to include implementation guidelines for the declaration of conduct in the South China Sea. And, of course, we will discuss our mutual desire for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. And I look forward to addressing these and other important issues with you. And, again, it is a pleasure to see you.

FOREIGN MINISTER YANG: Madam Secretary, first of all, I would like to say that, thanks to the current efforts of our two sides, President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States at the warm invitation of President Obama was very successful. The two leaders have reached an important consensus, and they have pointed the way forward. So China would like to work very hard, together with the United States, to keep the good momentum of our relationship, based on mutual respect and mutual benefit.

And I agree with you, that SED has been a success, and the people-to-people cultural exchanges, and the high-level meeting that you had with the Chinese has also been very successful. And looking down the road, I think there will be a couple of very important multilateral meetings in which both our presidents and our top leaders will participate. I refer to the (inaudible) meeting in France, the APEC meeting in Honolulu, and the EAS in this very place, this beautiful island of Bali. And I am sure that we will work together to contribute to the success of these meetings, and I am sure that the top leaders will meet each other, have good meetings, in the course of these important multilateral conferences.

And certainly I would immediately convey the warm wishes and regards from President Obama to President Hu Jintao.

And I do believe that the conclusion of the guidelines for DOC is of great significance, and it will go a long way to maintaining peace and stability and good (inaudible) in this region. And this will also provide favorable conditions for the proper handling and the settlement of the disputes among the claimants.

I also believe, like you, that China, the United States, and the other members of the Six Party Talks need to work together. Anything we can do together to promote a better atmosphere and a good dialogue among the parties concerned, and to work together to restart the Six Party Talks will be in the best interest of peace, stability, and security of the region. And this is also something, I think, which will be warmly welcomed by the participants of the meetings here, and by the international community.

So, I am looking forward to the meeting. I think there is a lot that China and the United States can do together in the Asia Pacific region so that this region will continue to enjoy peace, stability, and prosperity. Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you.