Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken not to cross the Asian power’s “red lines.”
Wang conveyed the message to Blinken this Friday during the meeting between the two foreign ministers in Beijing.
For his part, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the United States to be “partners, not rivals“.
The Chinese Foreign Minister also conveyed to his American counterpart that Beijing raises “coherent” demands and “always advocates mutual respect for fundamental interests.”
Challenges and “red lines”
“USA should not interfere in China’s internal affairs”It should not suppress China’s development and should not cross Beijing’s ‘red lines’ regarding China’s sovereignty, security and development interests,” Wang said.
He noted that relations between China and the United States are beginning to stabilize, although they are still tested by “negative factors.”
“The negative factors in ties (between the United States and China) continue to intensify and escalateand these relationships face all kinds of disruptions,” Wang said.
He added that “China’s legitimate rights to development are being unjustifiably suppressed, and our fundamental interests are being challenged.”
The Chinese foreign minister did not specify the specific issues he was referring to when mentioning “red lines” or “challenges.”
At this time, the two superpowers maintain important differences on issues such as sovereignty in the South China Sea, US support for the government of Taiwan, and issues related to human rights violations in China.
Attempt to improve relationships
Blinken, for his part, was more cautious in his statements.
In his view, Beijing and Washington have a shared responsibility for developing bilateral relations through “active diplomacy”.
At the same time, he noted that he will speak clearly and directly about the differences between the two countries to avoid miscalculations in the relationship, which he described as “the most important in the world.”
Some of the disagreements between both governments became evident earlier this week, when Washington approved the latest foreign aid package, which included military assistance to Taiwan.
This sparked strong criticism from Beijing, which called Washington’s actions “a serious violation of the one-China policy.”
Blinken’s visit to China comes just days after the United States passed a law that will prohibit TikTok from operating in the North American country if Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell the application within nine months.
After his meeting with the Chinese foreign minister this Friday, Antony Blinken met with President Xi Jinping.
The Chinese president pointed out that both countries should be “partners, not rivals,” he cited mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and cooperation for mutual benefit as the “three basic principles” of relations between the United States and China.
Despite the disagreements on various issues that distance Beijing and Washington, analysts consider that the visit of the American chancellor is key in the attempts to improve dialogue and diplomacy between the two.
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