China says it prefers to strengthen its ties with the United States, but considerable challenges remain.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken capped his visit to Beijing by meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two countries try to stabilize relations amid disputes over national security, the economy and geopolitical differences in the Middle East. Orient, Ukraine and Southeast Asia.
Xi told America’s top diplomat on Friday that the two superpowers “should be partners rather than rivals” and should help each other succeed rather than harm each other, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
“I proposed mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as the three fundamental principles. These are both lessons from the past and a guide for the future,” he said.
Xi said China would be happy to see the United States prosper and hopes Washington will share this perspective for Beijing so that bilateral relations can “genuinely stabilize, improve and move forward.”
But as Xi and Blinken said, there are still major problems that threaten the recent improvement in relations.
Blinken raised the issue of “Chinese support for Russia’s defense industrial base” during five and a half hours of talks, according to US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, who added that the two sides also discussed controversial topics such as Taiwan and the South China Sea.
China has not supplied Russia with weapons for its war in Ukraine, but the United States and other Western countries say Chinese industrial exports as machines and semiconductors have helped Russia increase its weapons production.
Beijing has described this trade between China and Russia as normal and should not be disrupted or restricted, also stressing that the war is being prolonged by large Western arms transfers and funding from Ukraine.
Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday, who warned that their countries could either “stay in the right direction to move forward with stability, return to a downward spiral,” or even “slide into confrontation.”
Wang said China observes a number of “red lines” that the United States must not cross as its relationship is tested by “negative factors.”
“China’s legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed, and our core interests face challenges,” he told Blinken.
The United States warned China against its proactive actions around the Philippines and promised to defend its ally.
“I have made clear that while the United States will continue to ease tensions, our defense commitments to the Philippines remain ironclad,” Blinken told reporters, adding that he discussed the “dangerous actions of Beijing in the South China Sea” during meetings with senior leaders.
In addition to the clashes over Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory and The United States armedthe two countries have seen tensions rise over artificial intelligence, a law that aims to ban TikTok in the United States if its Chinese parent company refuses to sell it and China’s supply of chemicals used to make fentanyl.
Underscoring the strained nature of their relationship, US President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill that includes $8 billion to counter Chinese military might, $61 billion for Ukraine and billions in military aid for Taiwan a few hours before. Blinken arrived in China Wednesday.
Sino-US relations have been turbulent in recent years, with the situation exacerbated by, among other things, a trade war, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in 2022 and a row over the United States. Downing of suspected Chinese surveillance balloon Last year.
