China’s Qin Gang raises concerns in conversation with Antony Blinken from the USA
China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang, in a phone call with Antony Blinken, days before the US Secretary of State’s expected visit to Beijing, has called on the United States to stop interfering in its affairs and jeopardize its security.
According to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, Qin called on Blinken to respect China’s “core concerns,” such as Taiwan, and “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and stop violating China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests in the name of competition.”
Blinken, meanwhile, emphasized the need for communication “to avoid miscalculations and conflicts,” and said the US would continue to address problem areas as well as possible cooperation with China, the State Department said after the phone call.
Should Blinken’s trip take place, it would be the first visit to China by a top Washington diplomat in five years and the most prominent visit during US President Joe Biden’s administration, which clashed with Beijing on topics ranging from Taiwan to trade and spy balloons.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet released information about Blinken’s trip, but last Friday, a US official said Blinken would be in Beijing on June 18, without giving any further details.
He was previously due to visit China in February, but the trip was canceled due to rising tensions over the alleged Chinese spy balloons, which were discovered and later shot down.
China has since largely rejected US attempts to conduct official exchanges, although Daniel Kritenbrink, US Deputy Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific, was in Beijing last week, the highest-ranking US official to visit China since the balloon incidents. Talks were described as “open
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Relations have also been affected by visits to Taiwan by US politicians since then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled to the self-governing island in August last year.
Pelosi’s visit prompted China, which claims the island as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its goals, to hold large-scale military exercises around the island.
China also condemned a meeting between current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California in April.
Qin noted that relations between China and the US have “faced new difficulties and challenges” since the beginning of the year, and both sides are responsible for working together to address differences appropriately, promote exchange and cooperation, and stabilize relations.
