On April 20, 2024, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng attended the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024 and delivered a speech.

Ambassador Xie noted that there have been and will continue to be differences between China and the United States, which is only natural. The key is to properly manage the differences, and especially, to respect each other’s core interests and major concerns. Applying salami tactics or crossing red lines on issues bearing on others’ core interests is just like racing cars on a cliff’s edge, where a crash is almost inevitable. If the U.S. side keeps interfering with China’s internal affairs and damaging China’s interests on issues related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Xizang and the South China Sea, how could the two sides ever put a floor under the relationship, no matter how many guardrails there may be?

Ambassador Xie stressed that the Taiwan question is the most important and sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations. The so-called “Taiwan independence” is a dead end, and the one-China principle is a red line not to be crossed. 

To maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the flashpoints must be defused. The fundamental approach is to fully and faithfully abide by the three Sino-U.S. Joint Communiques and the one-China principle. Of vital importance is to unequivocally oppose separatist attempts. The pressing priority is to curb adventurism and provocation by the separatists, in both words and deeds.