Chinese President Xi Jinping told Blinken that the two countries should be “partners, not rivals”, but that there were a “number of issues” to be resolved in their relations.
Meeting Blinken in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Xi said the two countries had “made some positive progress” since he met with US President Joe Biden last year, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
“There are still a number of issues that need to be resolved, and there is still room for further efforts,” Xi said.
“I proposed three major principles: mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation,” the Chinese leader added.
“The earth is big enough to hold the common development and … prosperity of China and the United States,” he continued.
“China would be pleased to see a confident and open, prosperous and developing United States,” Xi said.
“We hope the US can also take a positive view of China’s development,” he added.
“When this fundamental problem is solved … relations can truly stabilise, get better, and move forward.”
STEADYING THE SHIP
As the pair started talks, Wang told Blinken that the “giant ship” of the China-US ties had stabilised, “but negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and building”.
“And the relationship is facing all kinds of disruptions. China’s legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed and our core interests are facing challenges,” Wang told Blinken.
Underscoring the growing discord between the two sides, hours before Blinken landed in China on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill that included US$8 billion to counter China’s military might, as well as billions in defence aid for Taiwan and US$61 billion for Ukraine.
Wang said the US must not step on “red lines” covering sovereignty, security and development interests – an apparent reference to Taiwan, the democratically governed island that China claims as its own, and the disputed South China Sea.
