Politics

Chinese foreign minister asks US ambassador to ‘stabilize relations’

Beijing, May 8 (EFE).- China’s foreign minister told the American ambassador to his country that it is looking to stabilize relations between the two powers, the foreign office website reported Monday.

During a meeting held in Beijing, Qin Gang told the American Nicholas Burns that he regretted how relations had deteriorated with Washington due to recent events, compared to the rapprochement between the countries when their leaders met. This occurred in November in Indonesia, when Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping last held a meeting.

Qin said the “misguided actions” of the United States led to “disruption of the agreed agenda for dialog and cooperation between the two sides” and “the freezing of relations.”

He told Burns to avoid that ties between Beijing and Washington “fall into a spiral of deterioration” and to “prevent incidents,” while he asked that the United States “correct its perception of China.”

Noting that his country will “adhere to the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and cooperation” in its handling of relations with the United States, Qin said he expressed his hope that Washington would “return to rationality.”

The foreign minister said Washington must “stop supporting secessionist forces” and undermining the “One China” policy in Taiwan.

The island is one of the biggest sources of conflict between China and the US, mainly because Washington is Taiwan’s main arms supplier and its main ally in the event of a war with Beijing.

The statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry did not offer details about what Burns said during the meeting. It comes after months of increasing bilateral tensions as a result of issues such as the balloon of Chinese origin shot down in US territory, the disagreements with respect to Taiwan and the war in Ukraine, and the possible US ban on Chinese video app TikTok. EFE

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