AMID SCS ROW, XI TELLS TRUMP NEGATIVE ISSUES HURT RELATIONS

BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Donald Trump on Monday that “some negative factors” are hurting US-China relations, as tensions flare anew over a slew of longstanding sore points.

Xi’s comments in a phone call with Trump follow Beijing’s displeasure over US arms sales to rival Taiwan, US sanctions against a Chinese bank over its dealings with North Korea and, most recently, the sailing of a US destroyer within the territorial seas limit of a Chinese-claimed island in the South China Sea. Beijing was also miffed after the State Department gave Beijing a dismal grade last week in a new human trafficking report.

According to state media, Xi told Trump in their call that Beijing expects Washington to continue managing relations on the basis of the “one China” principle that rules out formal contacts with Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.

“Xi Jinping emphasized that, since my meeting with the president at Mar-a-Lago, China-U.S. relations have achieved important outcomes,” state broadcaster China Central Television reported. “At the same time, bilateral relations have been affected by some negative factors. China has expressed its position to the US.”

XI VISITS RUSSIA FOR BOOSTING RELATIONS President Xi Jinping arrived in Russia for talks focusing on expanding cooperation with Moscow just as tensions have flared up in US-China ties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will greet Xi at a Kremlin dinner on Monday.

Moscow and Beijing will sign dozens of agreements to deepen their cooperation during Xi’s two-day trip.