The United States expressed Friday its serious concern over China's support for the Russian defense industry, claiming it enables Moscow to prosecute its war against Ukraine, while the two countries agreed to continue high-level exchanges to stabilize ties despite differences on many issues.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Beijing after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that Beijing is a "top supplier" of components Russia uses to ramp up its defense industry base amid its invasion of Ukraine.
At a press conference, he warned Washington could impose additional sanctions on Chinese firms unless they change their practices. But Beijing maintains that Washington makes "groundless accusations over the normal trade and economic exchanges" between China and Russia.
The two sides, meanwhile, said they agreed to promote cooperation on issues including climate change, drug control and artificial intelligence and will hold the first intergovernmental talks on managing risks posed by AI technology in the coming weeks.
Xi called on the two global powers to seek common ground and put aside their differences rather than engage in vicious competition, saying they should be partners instead of rivals, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The Chinese leader told Blinken it is a shared desire of the international community to see strengthened bilateral dialogue, the ministry added.
On Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island that Beijing views as its own, Blinken said he stressed the critical importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Cross-strait tensions have been rising ahead of the inauguration of Taiwan's next leader Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing denounces as an independence advocate, on May 20. Blinken also said he reaffirmed Washington's commitment to a "one-China policy," under which it recognizes Beijing as the sole legal government of China.
During the talks between the two countries' top diplomats that lasted for five and a half hours, Wang said the Taiwan issue is "the first red line that must not be crossed" in bilateral relations and called on Washington to "stop arming" Taiwan, according to the Chinese ministry.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that includes arms support for Taiwan, among other Indo-Pacific allies and security partners, amid increased Chinese military pressure on the island. Communist-led China and Taiwan have been separately governed since they split due to a civil war in 1949.
As for tensions in the South China Sea, where China is engaged in territorial disputes with the Philippines and other neighboring countries, Blinken expressed concern over Beijing's "destabilizing actions" in the sea area at the press conference, vowing that Washington will work to de-escalate the situation.
Vessels of China and the Philippines have often been involved in confrontations. Blinken said the U.S. defense commitment to Manila remains "ironclad."
Wang urged the United States to halt coercing countries in the Asia-Pacific region to choose sides and stop deploying land-based midrange missiles, the Chinese ministry said.
His remarks apparently referred to recent moves by Washington to deepen security ties with Asian partners including Japan and South Korea and the deployment of a U.S. midrange missile system in the Philippines.
On the economic front, Blinken told reporters he raised U.S. concerns about Chinese overcapacity in production of electric vehicles, solar panels and other items, saying it could put business around the world at risk by flooding markets with cheap products and undermining competition.
Wang urged the United States to "stop hyping up the false narrative" of industrial overcapacity in China and revoke "illegal" sanctions on Chinese companies, according to the Chinese ministry.
He called on the United States "not to hold China's development back," apparently referring to U.S. trade curbs on China-bound semiconductors and other high-tech items based on national security concerns.
The top Chinese diplomat said that overall, Sino-U.S. ties are "beginning to stabilize," but added that "negative factors in the bilateral relationship" are "still increasing and building" and it faces "all kinds of disruptions."
Blinken also said he urged China to use its influence to prevent the expansion of conflict in the Middle East and press North Korea to end its "dangerous behavior" and engage in dialogue. He underscored the U.S. commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the State Department.
The U.S. secretary returned to China for the first time in 10 months after Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed during phone talks in early April the importance of enhanced high-level bilateral dialogue to stabilize relations.
Blinken also met with Chinese Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong, who serves as the country's police chief, on Friday and agreed to advance counternarcotics cooperation.
His China visit followed a trip to the Asian country by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen earlier this month.
Related coverage:
Philippines, U.S. begin military exercise amid concerns over China
China warns against maritime containment at naval symposium
Military spending at new high in 2023 amid Ukraine war, China tension
