Beijing 'is seeking peace'

NEW SLANT: XI WANTS PARTNERSHIP WITH US RATHER THAN WAR – EXPERT

- Eric Naki

China is being honest when it extends an olive branch to the US in saying the two countries should cooperate rather than go to war, an expert says.

But a Chinese diplomat believes that is not guaranteed to happen.

Prof John Stremlau, an international relations analyst and a specialist on US foreign policy at Wits University, said the views expressed by Chinese ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng are in line with Chinese President Xi Jinping's attempt to woo the US into a partnership with Beijing. Stremlau said Xi was seeking a partnership with the US rather than war.

"Xi Jinping is now looking for partnership with the US. What their ambassador is saying is not surprising at all," Stremlau said.

Wu told delegates at a conference on geopolitics organised by Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection that China and the US should coordinate and cooperate as long as both sides show mutual respect, through peaceful coexistence, for win-win results. "China and US relations will get better," Wu said.

The envoy said Chinese people want a better life not war and hence China had no history of expansion into other countries.