Chinese MNE warns Blinken of risk of deteriorating relationship with the US

China’s Foreign Minister warned the US Secretary of State this Friday about growing problems in ties between the two countries, despite progress made since November.

In a meeting in Beijing with Antony Blinken, Wang Yi noted that although the bilateral relationship has begun to stabilize, “negative factors continue to increase.”

“The international community is observing whether China and the United States can guide international cooperation towards mutually beneficial results or towards confrontation,” said the head of Chinese diplomacy, stressing that this will affect the entire world.

According to the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, China Daily, Wang considered that the future of relations between the two countries will be decided between “stable development or a downward spiral”.

The response “will demonstrate the sincerity and capacity of both sides,” he added.

The diplomat recognized the “progress made” since November, when Chinese and North American leaders, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, respectively, met again, after years without face-to-face meetings.

But Wang Yi warned the United States not to interfere in China’s internal affairs or cross Beijing’s “red lines” in reference to Taiwan.

On Tuesday, the US Congress approved a military aid package for Taiwan valued at 8.1 billion dollars (7.56 billion euros), a decision contested by China, which considers the island part of its territory.

The same law obliges the Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok within 12 months if it does not want the video platform to be banned in the United States.

“China’s legitimate development rights have been unduly oppressed and our fundamental interests are being challenged,” said Wang Yi.

According to China Daily, Blinken highlighted the importance of dialogue at the meeting and described the bilateral relationship as “the most decisive in the world”.

The US Secretary of State guaranteed that Washington will be “clear and direct” about the areas of divergence and the country’s position.

On Thursday, Blinken met with the top official in China’s financial capital, Shanghai, the local Communist Party secretary, Chen Jining, and “expressed concerns regarding trade policies [chinesas] and non-market economic practices,” the US State Department said in a statement.

The official stressed that the United States seeks healthy economic competition with China and “equal conditions for American workers and companies operating” in the Asian country.

China’s multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the US, along with accusations of intellectual property theft and other practices considered discriminatory to US companies in China, have been a source of friction in bilateral relations.