Top priority is to stabilise China-US relations, says foreign minister
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Beijing: China on Monday said that its top priority right now is to stabilise relations between the rival powers. The statement comes when Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang is holding talks with US Ambassador Nicholas Burns.
According to Chinese state media, Qin told Burns that Beijing's top priority is to stabilise China-US relations and avoid a downward spiral and prevent accidents from occurring between the two nations. He added that the relations between Beijing and Washington were of "great significance".
However, Qin claimed that "a series of erroneous words and deeds by the US side" undermined the progress since Chinese President Xi Jinping met his US counterpart Joe Biden in Bali in November 2022. He termed the current state of relations between China and the US "on cold ice". He further said that the US actions have undermined "hard-won positive momentum".
"The agenda of dialogue and cooperation agreed by the two sides has been disrupted, and the relationship between the two countries has once again hit the cold ice," said the foreign minister according to a statement issued by the ministry.
The meeting with the US ambassador is happening after Washington shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon over North American territory in February 2022. China claimed that it is a weather-reporting device that accidentally flew over the borders.
"This should be the basic consensus between the two countries and is also the bottom line that must be upheld when dealing with state-to-state relations, especially ties between two major countries," said Qin.
He urged the Western nation to "reflect deeply" and "meet China halfway" to push bilateral relations out of their current predicament. "The US can’t talk about communication on the one hand, but keep suppressing and containing China on the other hand."
Speaking about Taiwan, Qin said Washington must respect China's bottom lines and stop undermining its sovereignty, security, and development interests. He asked that the US stop hollowing out the "one China" principle and end support for "Taiwan independent" forces.
Burns took to Twitter and wrote that he and Qin discussed "challenges in the US-China relationship and the necessity of stabilising ties and expanding high-level communication."