China Urges US to Address Disagreements
China's foreign minister urged visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to address rising disagreements or risk a "downward spiral" between the two powers after months of efforts to ease tensions.
Blinken, paying his second visit to the rival country in less than a year, voiced hope for progress but said he would directly raise areas of difference, which are expected to include Russia, Taiwan and trade.
China in turn has been infuriated by President Joe Biden's pressure on the economic front.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi received a Blinken at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse in the capital's ancient gardens before tables from the late Qing dynasty and an imposing painting of a Chinese mountain scene.
Wang told Blinken that relations between the world's two largest economies were "beginning to stabilize", especially after Biden and President Xi Jinping met in November near San Francisco.
"But at the same time, the negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and building," Wang said.
Saying that China "advocated respect for each other's core interests", he demanded that the United States not "trample on China's red line" on sovereignty, security and development.
"China's legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed and our core interests are facing challenges," he said.
As he opened the meeting with Wang, Blinken said he would be "very clear, very direct", but added, "I hope we make some progress on the issues our presidents agreed" on at the California summit.
He said the United States and China needed to show that they are "managing the most consequential relationship, I think, for both of us in the world".
The two countries should be as "clear as possible about the areas where we have differences -- at the very least to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations", Blinken said.
"That really is a shared responsibility that we have not only for our own people, but for people around the world, given the impact that our relationship has," he said.
