Chinese President Xi Jinping told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that their countries “should be partners, not competitors” shortly after Beijing warned Washington against crossing its red lines in high-stakes meetings aimed at stabilizing relations between the world’s two largest economies.
Xi met with Blinken before the US diplomat concluded his three-day visit to Beijing on Friday, an unexpected face-to-face meeting with the Communist Party leader that demonstrated efforts to ease emerging points of tension.
“I have said many times that the Earth is large enough for China and the United States to develop and prosper respectively,” Xi said.
The talks were closely watched by allies and adversaries of both countries, including Russia and Taiwan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his possible visit to China next month to strengthen their “borderless” partnership, which is one of the points of contention between Beijing and Washington.
Blinken had earlier met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for more than five hours behind closed doors to discuss the most controversial issues on the table, including US aid to Taiwan and China’s support for the Russian defense industry.
Mr. Wang opened the meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse by asking a question with warning undertones. He asked, “Should China and the United States stay in the right direction to move forward toward stability or return to a downward spiral?” Asked.
Wang warned the United States not to overstep the bounds for fear that the stability of their relations could turn into a “downward spiral” leading to rivalry, confrontation and even conflict.
Wang told Blinken that the “giant ship” of China-US relations has stabilized, “but negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and accumulating.”
“Relations are facing all kinds of turmoil. China’s legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed, and our fundamental interests are facing challenges,” he added.
He warned the United States against using Taiwan as a tool to contain China and arm Taipei.
Blinken, who is on his second visit to China in a year, responded with a cautious tone and said that “active diplomacy” was necessary to advance the agenda set by US President Joe Biden and Mr. Xi when they met in San Francisco last year. November.
He added: “There is no alternative in our judgment to direct, face-to-face diplomacy in order to try to move forward, but also to make sure that we are as clear as possible about the areas where we have differences to at least avoid misunderstandings.” To avoid miscalculations.
Highlighting the growing tension between the two countries, just hours before Blinken arrived in China on Wednesday, Biden signed a bipartisan bill allocating $8 billion to counter China’s military capabilities, along with significant defense aid for Taiwan and $61 billion for Ukraine.
Biden also signed a bill that would ban TikTok in the United States within a year unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, agrees to sell it.
The United States is angry with China for helping the Russian defense industry through exports despite Western sanctions against Moscow.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken raised concerns about “China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base,” adding that the two sides also discussed Taiwan, the South China Sea and other flashpoints.
Mr. Xi met with Mr. Blinken after the last-minute confirmation. The Chinese president said that the two sides have made “positive progress” in recent months, but there is still room to make efforts on “many issues that need to be resolved.”
