Global Courant 2023-05-08 10:23:00
BEIJING — China’s foreign minister Qin Gang said on Monday it is imperative to stabilize China-US relations after a series of “wrong words and actions” refreeze ties in the depths of the world .
In a meeting in Beijing with US Ambassador Nicholas Burns, Mr. Qin particularly stressed that the United States must correct its handling of the Taiwan issue and stop undermining the “one China” principle.
Relations between the world’s two largest economies fell to an all-time low last year when then-Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi paid an official visit to Taiwan.
That move angered China, which claims the island as its territory.
In response, Beijing severed formal channels of communication with the US, including one between its armies.
Tension between the two superpowers eased in November when US and Chinese leaders, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, met at a G-20 summit in Indonesia and pledged to engage in more dialogue.
“A series of erroneous words and actions by the United States since then have undermined the hard-won positive momentum of Sino-US relations,” Qin told Burns, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The agenda of dialogue and cooperation agreed upon by the two sides has been disrupted and the relationship between the two countries has once again fallen on ice.”
Tensions flared in February when a Chinese balloon appeared at high altitude in US skies.
Following that incident, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a visit to Beijing.
Last week, Mr Blinken seemed to hold out hope for a visit, telling The Washington Post it was important to get the lines of communication going again at all levels.
Also last week, US climate envoy John Kerry said China had invited him to visit “at short notice” for talks about averting a global climate crisis, offering hope of resetting one of the world’s most important relations between states.
“China-US relations are of great importance not only to China and the United States, but also to the world,” Qin said.
“The top priority is to stabilize Sino-US relations, prevent a downward spiral and prevent accidents between China and the United States.” REUTERS
