BEIJING – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials, stressing the importance of “responsibly managing” differences between the United States and China, as the two sides clashed over a series of bilateral, regional and global conflicts. problems.
Negotiations between the two sides have increased in recent months, even as differences have grown. Blinken said he raised concerns with Xi about China’s support for Russia in the invasion of Ukraine, as well as other issues including Taiwan and the South China Sea, human rights and the production and export of synthetic opioid precursors.
Blinken gave a positive note on recent progress made in bilateral cooperation, including in military communications, the fight against drug trafficking and artificial intelligence.
“We are committed to maintaining and strengthening the lines of communication to advance this agenda and, again, to deal responsibly with our differences, to avoid any miscommunications, any misperceptions, any miscalculations,” he said .
But he said he made clear to Xi current concerns about Beijing’s supply of materials, including machine tools and microelectronics, to Moscow, which President Vladimir Putin is using to bolster Russia’s defenses and its war against Ukraine. .
“Russia would have difficulty sustaining its attack on Ukraine without support from China,” Blinken told reporters after his meeting with Xi.
“Supplying Russia’s defense industrial base not only threatens Ukrainian security, it also threatens European security,” he added. “As we have told China for some time, ensuring transatlantic security is a core US interest. In our discussions today. I made it clear that China does not solve this problem.”
Xi emphasized that China and the US should seek common ground “instead of engaging in fierce competition.”
“China is happy to see a confident, open, prosperous and prosperous United States,” said the Chinese leader. “We hope that the US can also look at China’s development in a positive light. This is a fundamental issue that must be addressed.”
Previously, Blinken held lengthy talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong.
He and Wang stressed the importance of keeping lines of communication open as they lamented the persistent and deepening divisions that threaten global security. These divisions were highlighted earlier this week when US President Joe Biden signed a massive foreign aid bill that contains several elements that the Chinese find problematic.
“Overall, the China-US relationship is starting to stabilize,” Wang told Blinken at the start of about five and a half hours of talks. “But at the same time, the negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and growing and the relationship is facing all kinds of ruptures.”
“Should China and the United States stay in the right direction to move forward with stability or return to a downward spiral?” he asked. “This is an important issue before our two countries and tests our sincerity and ability.”
Wang also described, without being specific, known Chinese grievances about U.S. policies and positions on the South China Sea, Taiwan, human rights and China’s right to conduct relations with countries it deems appropriate.
“China’s legitimate development rights have been unjustifiably suppressed and our fundamental interests face challenges,” he said. “China’s concerns are consistent. We always call for respect for each other’s fundamental interests and urge the United States not to interfere in China’s internal affairs, not to delay China’s development, and not to step on China’s red lines regarding China’s sovereignty, security and development interests. China.”
Blinken responded by saying the Biden administration values U.S.-China dialogue, even on controversial issues. He noted that there had been some progress over the past year, but suggested that negotiations would continue to be difficult.
“In our judgment, there is no substitute for face-to-face diplomacy, in order to try to move forward, but also to ensure that we are as clear as possible about the areas where we have differences, at least to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations” , he said.
The State Department later said that Blinken and Wang had “in-depth, substantive and constructive discussions on areas of disagreement as well as areas of cooperation” and made clear that Blinken stood by his position on US concerns.
Blinken “emphasized that the United States will continue to defend our interests and values and those of our allies and partners, including on human rights and economic issues,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Blinken arrived in China on Wednesday, visiting Shanghai just before Biden signed the $95 billion foreign aid package that contains several elements that could anger Beijing, including $8 billion to counter China’s growing aggressiveness in relation to Taiwan and the South China Sea. He also seeks to force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform.
China and the United States are the main players in the Indo-Pacific. Washington has become increasingly alarmed by Beijing’s growing aggressiveness in recent years toward Taiwan and its smaller Southeast Asian neighbors, with which it has significant territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
China criticized US aid to Taiwan and immediately condemned the aid as a dangerous provocation. It also strongly opposes efforts to force the sale of TikTok.
The project also provides 61 billion dollars for Ukraine to defend itself against the Russian invasion. The Biden administration has loudly complained that Chinese support for Russia’s military-industrial sector has allowed Moscow to subvert Western sanctions and intensify attacks on Ukraine.
US officials said China’s ties with Russia would be the main topic of conversation during Blinken’s visit, and just before Friday’s meetings began, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would visit China in May .
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
