Foreign Minister Wang emphasized that China-US relations have begun to stabilize but are still tested by “negative factors”.
Wang said, “Should China and the United States continue to move in the right direction to move forward with stability, or should they return to a downward spiral?” asked.
Blinken, who made his second visit to China in less than a year, completed his trip by meeting with President Xi on Friday afternoon.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang warned that the two countries could either cooperate or engage in conflict, or even “slide into conflict.”
Wang laid out China’s “red lines” on sovereignty, security and development and warned the United States not to cross these lines.
“[ABD-Çin] Reminding that the negative factors in their relations continue to increase and develop, and the relationship has been subjected to all kinds of disruptions, Wang said, “China’s legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed, and our core interests are facing difficulties.”
Wang did not disclose those challenges, but there are several sensitive flashpoints between the two superpowers, including their positions in the South China Sea, U.S. support for the Taiwanese government and human rights.
Blinken was more cautious in his statements to the press with Wang.
Blinken said Beijing and Washington have a shared responsibility to advance relations through “active diplomacy.”
However, he said he would be open and clear about their countries’ differences to avoid miscalculations in the relationship between the two countries, which he described as the most important relationship in the world.
Şİ: WE SHOULD BE PARTNERS, NOT COMPETITORS
The meeting between Blinken and Xi was announced just hours before it was to take place.
According to the news of Chinese state channel Xinhua News Agency, President Xi Jinping, opening the meeting, said that China and the USA should “maintain their differences, seek common ground and not engage in a vicious competition.”
Xi noted that they should “stick to their words” instead of “saying one thing and doing another.”
Stating that it is possible for China and the USA to “develop together and prosper separately”, Xi said: “China is happy to see a self-confident, open and prosperous USA. We hope that the US side will also look positively at China’s development.”
Xi stated that the two countries “should be partners, not rivals” and called for mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as the “three main principles” for US-China relations.
Earlier this week, Washington approved the latest aid package that includes military aid to Taiwan. This drew sharp criticism from Beijing, which called it a “serious violation of the one-China principle”.
China claims self-governing Taiwan is a breakaway province that will eventually come under Beijing’s control, but the island sees itself differently.
Blinken’s visit comes just days after the United States passed a law forcing the sale of popular Chinese video app TikTok or else it would be banned in America.
The United States is also warning Beijing to stop exporting certain materials to Russia, arguing that Moscow is using them to produce weapons for the Ukraine war.
However, this visit, although cold, is considered as an indicator of the significant increase in dialogue and diplomacy between the two rival powers, and as an effort to put relations on an equal footing after the escalating tensions last year.
US President Joe Biden and Xi discussed ways to cooperate, including climate change and countering narcotics, in a phone call earlier this month.
But disagreement continues over US support for Taiwan and trade restrictions on technology.
