During a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi encouraged Washington to “work with China” to strengthen relations, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday.
The Thursday conversation outside of Southeast Asian discussions in Jakarta was the most recent in a string of high-level encounters between the two sides as they work to reduce economic and geopolitical concerns.
Blinken expressed worries about suspected Chinese cybersecurity risks during their second meeting in less than a month after Microsoft said Chinese state-backed hackers had compromised email accounts of US federal organizations.
According to a statement released on Friday by the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang reminded Blinken that Washington “needs to take a rational and practical approach, work with China in the same direction.”
To quit “interfering” in China’s affairs, he pleaded with the US.
Wang stressed China’s firm stance on the Taiwan issue and asked the US to refrain from willfully meddling in Chinese domestic affairs, according to the ministry.
Additionally, he encouraged the United States to “lift illegal and unjustified sanctions against China” and “stop suppressing China in the economy, trade, science, and technology.”
Over a number of topics, including trade, US military assistance for Taiwan, Beijing’s increasing aggressiveness in the South China Sea, and its cozy ties with Russia, tensions between the United States and China have risen in recent years.
Taiwan is seen by China as a part of its land.
Beijing has reacted by banning the export of gallium and germanium, two metals that are often used to produce semiconductors and electric cars. Washington has pinched down advanced semiconductor shipments to China.
Although there were no major breakthroughs during the debate between the senior diplomats, it was “candid, pragmatic, and constructive,” according to the Chinese foreign ministry, which also said that the two sides “agreed to maintain communication.”
On the first visit to China by a US secretary of state in five years, Blinken met Wang last month.
Then, earlier this month, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited China, and next week, climate envoy John Kerry will do the same.
