US denies China ‘Cold War’

WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday insisted it was not pursuing a new “Cold War” with China, but the Pacific powers could only paper over deep differences during highlevel talks.

The defence chiefs and top foreign affairs officials of the two countries met in Washington for a regular dialogue that had been pushed back amid months of spiraling tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

After President Donald Trump’s barbed comments against China in the runup to this week’s congressional elections, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo turned conciliatory in tone if not always in substance.

“The United States is not pursuing a Cold War or containment policy with China. Rather, we want to ensure that China act responsibly and fairly in support of security and prosperity in each of our two countries,” Pompeo told a joint news conference.

But Pompeo also was upfront about US concerns. While the Trump administration has generally been soft-spoken on human rights, at least with allies, Pompeo denounced China’s “repression” of religious and minority groups including the Uighur community, citing a UN report that up to one million members of the mostly Muslim ethnic group have been rounded up in detention camps.

And on Taiwan, while assuring his guests that the United States only recognizes Beijing, Pompeo was increasingly forthright in advocating for the self-ruling democracy, criticising Beijing’s efforts to isolate the island it