XI: U.S. CANNOT SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER
President urges Washington to view China’s development positively so relations can be stabilised, while Wang Yi warns Blinken on ‘red lines’
President Xi Jinping called on the United States to be a partner of China and not “say one thing and do another” in a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing yesterday.
Blinken, in turn, expressed concerns about China’s supply of goods that could have military uses to Russia and its alleged manufacturing overcapacity.
The two countries agreed to continue high-level engagement, including talks in the next few weeks on artificial intelligence, but appeared to have made little progress on the most challenging issues as Blinken wrapped up his three-day trip.
Xi warned Washington not to form “small blocs” against China and said relations could only stabilise and move forward if the US viewed China’s development positively.
“This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States … the two countries should be partners, not rivals; they should achieve mutual success, not harm each other; they should seek common ground while reserving differences instead of vicious competition; they should be true to their words and be resolute in deeds, rather than saying one thing and doing another,” he said, according to a report by CCTV.
“China is willing to cooperate, but cooperation should be twoway … China insists on non-alignment, and the United States should not engage in ‘small blocs’.
“Both parties can have their own friends and partners, and should not target, oppose, and harm each other.”
The visit was Blinken’s second trip to China in the space of a year amid growing worries that tensions between the two countries could escalate into conflict.
In a press conference later, Blinken said he raised concerns over China’s supply of dual-use goods – which have military and civilian uses – to Russia. China’s increasing closeness to Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine has heightened US distrust.
The Wall Street Journal reported ahead of Blinken’s trip that the US might threaten to remove some Chinese banks from the global financial system if China did not curtail outflow of dual-use components to Russia.
In the press conference, Blinken said the US was “fully prepared” to take additional measures if “we don’t see a change”.
“I was extremely clear about our concerns, in some detail. We’ll have to see what actions follow from that. Now I think China has demonstrated in the past when it comes to Russia and Ukraine, that it can take positive action,” he said, referring to previous comments by Beijing warning against the use of nuclear weapons.
China has long opposed US “unilateral” sanctions, with Chinese entities being blacklisted, and criticised Western military and financial support for Ukraine as prolonging the conflict.
It urged the US yesterday not to “lay the blame” on China while it continued supporting Ukraine with large amounts of aid, which it said was “hypocritical and irresponsible”.
This week US President Joe Biden approved a US$61 billion funding package for Ukraine that had been stalled for months by Republicans in Congress.
Earlier yesterday, Blinken met Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who warned the US not to cross any
The two countries should be partners, not rivals; they should achieve mutual success, not harm each other PRESIDENT XI JINPING
red lines on sovereignty, security or development.
The two spent nearly six hours discussing their differences on issues ranging from trade to tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea and technology.
Wang said ties had generally stabilised since Xi and Biden met in California in November, but “negative factors” were building, including an unreasonable suppression of China’s legitimate right to development and constant challenges to China’s core interests, according to the Chinese foreign ministry
He said Beijing was committed to a stable, healthy and sustainable relationship, but “if the United States always regards China as its main rival, relations will only be troubled and full of problems”.
On Taiwan, Wang warned the US not to use the island as “a tool to contain China” and urged it to stop arming the island.
The aid package Biden approved for Ukraine also included US$8 billion funding for Taiwan. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.
American actions are not aimed at holding back Chinese development ANTONY BLINKEN
The US, like most countries, does not recognise the island as independent, but is opposed to any attempt to take it by force and is legally bound to supply it with weapons.
Wang criticised US activities in the Asia-Pacific, urging it to stop asking other countries to “pick a side” and halt deployment of land-based medium-range missiles in the region.
Both Wang and Biden also referred to the heightened trade tensions between the two sides amid consistent complaints that Chinese overcapacity is flooding the US market and undercutting American firms.
This has prompted Biden to threaten more tariffs on Chinese metals and electric vehicles, while the US Trade Representative’s office has launched an investigation into Chinese shipbuilding, logistics and maritime companies under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows the office to investigate and respond to foreign trade practices that violate international agreements.
Wang called on the US to stop “hyping up the false narrative of China’s overcapacity theory, lift illegal sanctions on Chinese companies, and stop imposing Section 301 tariffs that violate WTO rules”.
Blinken said in his press conference: “We’ll do what’s necessary to ensure that American workers can compete on a level playing field. American actions are not aimed at holding back Chinese development, nor are we decoupling our economies.”
He said he also voiced concerns over “the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy” and human rights issues in Tibet and Xinjiang, issues seen by China as internal affairs.