China says it prefers to strengthen its ties with the United States, but significant challenges remain.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken capped his visit to Beijing with a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the two countries seek to mend ties amid disputes over national security, the economy and geopolitical differences in the Middle East, Ukraine and to stabilize in Southeast Asia.
According to state news agency Xinhua, Xi told the top US diplomat on Friday that the two superpowers “should be partners, not rivals” and should help each other succeed rather than hurt each other.
“I proposed mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as the three overarching principles. They are both lessons from the past and a guide for the future,” he said.
Xi said China would be happy to have a prosperous U.S. and hopes Washington shares that outlook for Beijing so that bilateral ties can “truly stabilize, improve and advance.”
But as both Xi and Blinken said, there are still major problems that threaten the recent improvement in relations.
According to US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, during the five-and-a-half-hour talks, Blinken raised the issue of Chinese “support for Russia’s defense industrial base,” adding that both sides also discussed contentious issues such as Taiwan and the South China Sea.
China has not provided Russia with weapons for its war in Ukraine, but the United States and other Western nations say Chinese industrial exports such as machinery and semiconductors have helped Russia increase its weapons production.
Beijing called this normal trade between China and Russia, which should not be disrupted or restricted, and also pointed out that the war was being prolonged by large Western arms transfers and financing to Ukraine.
Earlier Friday, Blinken met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who warned that their countries could either “maintain the right direction and move forward stably, or return to a downward spiral” or even “slide into confrontation.”
Wang said China is observing a series of “red lines” that the US is not allowed to cross as their relations are being tested by “negative factors”.
“China’s legitimate development rights have been unduly suppressed and our core interests face challenges,” he told Blinken.
The US warned China about its aggressive actions around the Philippines and vowed to defend its ally.
“I have made clear that while the United States will continue to de-escalate tensions, our defense commitments to the Philippines remain ironclad,” Blinken told reporters, adding that he would “dangerous actions in the South China Sea” in meetings with Beijing leaders. have addressed.
In addition to the disputes over Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory and the U.S. has armed, tensions have increased in the two countries over artificial intelligence, a law aimed at banning TikTok in the U.S. if the Chinese Parent company refuses to sell it and China’s supply of chemicals to make fentanyl.
Underscoring the strained nature of their relationship, US President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill just hours before Blinken’s arrival in China on Wednesday that would provide $8 billion to counter China’s military might as well as $61 billion for Ukraine and earmarks billions in military aid for Taiwan.
Relations between China and the US have been turbulent in recent years, with the situation marred by, among other things, a trade war, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in 2022 and a dispute over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon the USA was tightened last year.