“Should China and the United States maintain the right direction of moving forward with stability or return to a downward spiral?”, asked Wang during a meeting with Blinken in Beijing.
The relationship between China and the United States is starting to stabilize, but continues to be tested by “negative factors”, he added.
The official recognized the “progress made” since November, when Chinese and North American leaders, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, respectively, met again in San Francisco, after years without face-to-face meetings. The head of Chinese diplomacy stressed that Beijing respects the red lines in matters of sovereignty, security and development and warned the US not to cross them.
“The negative factors in the relationship [EUA-China] continue to increase and develop, and the relationship is facing all kinds of disruptions,” Wang warned.
For the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, “China’s legitimate development rights have been unjustifiably suppressed and our fundamental interests are facing challenges”.
Wang did not specify what the challenges are, however, There are several sensitive points between the two superpowers, including their positions on the South China Sea, US support for the Taiwan government and Human Rights.
This visit by Blinken, the second in less than a year, is seen as an attempt to reduce tensions between the world’s two largest economies. However, disputes continue to poison relations, particularly the restrictions imposed by the US on exports of advanced technologies to China, including semiconductors.
“The international community is watching whether China and the United States can steer international cooperation toward mutually beneficial results or toward confrontation,” Wang said, stressing that this will affect the entire world.
Blinken was more circumspect in his comments during the press conference, responding that “active diplomacy” was needed. to advance the agenda established between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping when they met in San Francisco.
“There is no substitute, in our opinion, for face-to-face diplomacy”, highlighted the US Secretary of State, adding that he wants to ensure that “we are as clear as possible about the areas in which we have differences, at the very least to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations”.Taiwan, TikTok and Ukraine
Before his trip, Antony Blinken had indicated that he would raise sensitive issues with his Chinese counterparts, such as China’s trade practices, Beijing’s support for Moscow.
Some of the differences between China and the US were highlighted earlier this week, after Washington approved its latest aid package, which included military assistance for Taiwan. This fact raised strong criticism from Beijing, which considered it a “serious violation of the one-China principle”.
China considers Taiwan to be an autonomous province that will eventually come under Beijing’s control, but the island considers itself independent.
Blinken’s visit also comes a few days after the US passed a law that forces TikTok, a Chinese company, to sell the popular video app or be banned in America.
The social network TikTok is also threatened with a ban in the United States if it does not cut ties with its Chinese parent company ByteDance. Washington suspects that the application is used to spy on Americans, collect personal information and serve as Chinese propaganda.
Behind the scenes, the Americans have warned Beijing to stop exporting to Russia parts that, they say, help Moscow manufacture weapons for its war in Ukrainewith the threat of sanctions hanging over the talks.
The Joe Biden administration’s willingness to work with China stands in stark contrast to efforts to isolate Russia since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Although the Chinese do not directly supply weapons to Russia, Washington has accused them in recent weeks of providing dual-use equipment and technology to Moscow, which is facilitating its rearmament effort, the largest since the Soviet Union’s invasion of Ukraine.
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