China calls for peaceful coexistence and promises pandas on the 45th anniversary of U.S.-China ties

By KEN MORITSUGU
Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — China’s foreign minister says the United States and China must insist on peaceful coexistence and transcend their differences like they did when they established diplomatic relations 45 years ago this week. Foreign Minister Wang Yi also promised during an anniversary banquet on Friday that giant pandas would return to the U.S. by the end of the year. Both Wang and the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy cited congratulatory letters exchanged by Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday. The two countries are trying to navigate what may be their most difficult waters since the U.S. recognized the communist government as the government of China on Jan. 1, 1979.