Xi Jinping said people in China and the US had shared the same enemy in their fight against Japan.
Beijing:
Chinese President Xi Jinping told two American Flying Tigers veterans who fought for China during World War II that China and the U.S. “should and can live side by side peacefully,” offering both sides further clues to ease ongoing tensions.
In his response to a letter from former pilot Harry Moyer and pilot gunner Mel McMullen, Xi said the people of China and the United States had shared the same enemy in their fight against Japan and had forged a “profound” friendship, the Chinese state said. media on Tuesday.
“Looking to the future, China and the United States, as two major countries, bear more important responsibilities for world peace, stability and development,” Xi said.
“They must and must achieve mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.”
His call for stable and peaceful ties followed a series of meetings and talks between US and Chinese officials in recent months aimed at easing tensions and restoring channels of communication, including contact between their militaries.
The American Volunteer Group, known as the Flying Tigers, was a combat group composed of former American pilots hired by the Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang to fight against Japan in 1941–42.
The pilots, whose planes were iconic for their shark faces, were widely known in China for their bravery against larger Japanese forces as they took to the skies from rural runways hand-paved by Chinese people.
“Currently, China-US relations are facing many difficulties and challenges,” Chinese Vice President Han Zheng told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.
“The world needs stable and healthy China-US relations,” Han said.
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