Pompeo, Wang Yi trade harsh words

In unusually blunt language to a U.S. secretary of state, China’s foreign minister accused the United States on Monday of interfering in its internal affairs and of harming his nation’s interests on the question of Taiwan.

In a face-to-face exchange with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the foreign minister, Wang Yi, chided the Trump administration for “ceaselessly elevating” trade tensions and “casting a shadow” over relations between the two countries.

Pompeo said in a tart response that the United States had a “fundamental disagreement” on the issues that China raised. The sharp tit-for-tat stripped away the customary veneer of diplomatic niceties during public remarks. It came days after Washington laid down a tough new China policy announced by Vice President Mike Pence, who declared in a speech that the United States would “not stand down.”

Pompeo arrived in Beijing after a trip to North Korea, South Korea and Japan that was largely focused on setting a time and place for a second summit between President Donald Trump and the North’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

As he left Seoul, the secretary of state said he had made progress on arranging a meeting, which Trump wants before the midterm elections next month. Washington continues to seek China’s help in smoothing the path to the denuclearisation of the North, which was part of the secretary’s mission when he landed in Beijing. NYT

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