Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang assured this Monday that “stabilizing relations” with the United States is a “priority” during a meeting with US Ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns.
According to a note published by China’s foreign ministry, Qin lamented that a “series of wrong actions” by Washington “undermined the positive momentum” generated by the “consensus” reached between the leaders of the United States and China. Joe Biden and Xi Jinping at a meeting last November on the island of Bali, Indonesia.
According to Qin, the “wrong actions” of the United States have led to the “disruption of the agreed agenda of dialogue and cooperation between the two sides” and to the “freezing of relations”.
The Chinese minister urged Burns to avoid “incidents” and that Beijing-Washington ties “go into a spiral of deterioration” and called on the United States to “correct its perception of China.”
Qin noted that Beijing “adheres to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and cooperation” in its relations with Washington, and said he hoped the US would “return to rationality”.
Qin Gang further stated that the US should “stop eroding the ‘One China’ principle” and “stop supporting separatist forces” in Taiwan.
Relations between Beijing and Washington have deteriorated rapidly in recent years due to a trade and technology war, disputes over human rights, the status of Hong Kong and Taiwan, or the sovereignty of the South China Sea.
Tensions have risen again in recent months over issues such as the shooting down of a Chinese balloon allegedly used for espionage purposes on US soil, Beijing’s stance on the war in Ukraine and the possible US ban on the TikTok video application, developed by the Chinese company ByteDance.
The Chinese diplomacy note did not address Burns’ claims.
Source: DN
