Chinese president Xi Jinping and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken aired their respective administrations’ grievances against the other during a meeting last Friday. The exercise did little to soothe the two country’s souring relations, according to the South China Morning Post, but both sides promised to continue talking.
One of Blinken’s concerns was China supplying goods that could help Russia’s military in its war against US ally Ukraine. The US has reportedly threatened to remove some Chinese banks from the global financial system if it doesn’t “see a change.”
Xi, in response, warned the US not to “say one thing and do another.” China says Washington is prolonging the conflict by propping Ukraine up with huge amounts of weapons and aid – a practice Beijing has described as “hypocritical and irresponsible.”
Xi also accused the US of forming “small blocs” against China, and urged it to view China as a partner not a rival. “I have said many times that the Earth is big enough for China and the United States to develop together and prosper independently,” he said.
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“China is willing to cooperate, but cooperation should be two-way … Both parties can have their own friends and partners, and should not target, oppose, and harm each other.”
Washington’s top diplomat also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday. Wang urged the US to stop providing arms to Taiwan (US president Joe Biden recently approved US$8 billion of funding for the island) and to tone down its military activities in the South China Sea.
The pair also discussed escalating trade tensions stemming from the US accusations that China was flooding the US market with subsidised products and undercutting US firms through unfair competition.
The US has threatened further sanctions, and Blinken has said he would “do what’s necessary to ensure that American workers can compete on a level playing field.” Wang, meanwhile, urged the US to lift sanctions on Chinese companies and to stop imposing punitive tariffs.
