US, China spar with warnings about misunderstandings & miscalculations

The United States and China butted heads over some contentious bilateral regional and global issues as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with senior Chinese officials and warned of the dangers of misunderstandings and miscalculationsBlinkens discussions started with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and then Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong who said Blinken would also see President Xi Jinping a meeting that had been expected but not previously announced by either said A State Department official confirmed that Blinken would meet the president before leaving the country late FridayTalks between the two sides have increased in recent months even as differences have grown Blinken and Wang underscored the importance of keeping lines of communication open but they also lamented that divisions were becoming more seriousThey each underscored the importance of keeping lines of communication open but they also lamented persistent and deepening divisions that threaten global security Those divisions were highlighted earlier this week when US President Joe Biden signed a massive foreign aid bill that contains several elements that the Chinese see as problematicTheir comments hinted at a long list of differences to be discussed including Taiwan and the South China Sea trade and human rights Chinas support for Russia and the production and export of synthetic opioid precursorsOverall the ChinaUS relationship is beginning to stabilize Wang told Blinken at the start of about 5 12 hours of talks But at the same time the negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and building and the relationship is facing all kinds of disruptionsShould China and the United States keep in the right direction of moving forward with stability or return to a downward spiral he asked This is a major question before our two countries and tests our sincerity and abilityWang also outlined without being specific wellknown Chinese complaints about US policies and positions on the South China Sea Taiwan human rights and Chinas right to conduct relations with countries it deems fitChinas legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed and our core interests are facing challenges he said Chinas concerns are consistent We have always called for respect of each others core interests and urge the United States not to interfere in Chinas internal affairs not to hold Chinas development back and not to step on Chinas red lines on Chinas sovereignty security and development interestsBlinken responded by saying that the Biden administration places a premium on USChina dialogue even on issues of dispute He noted there had been some progress in the past year but suggested that talks would continue to be difficultI look forward to these discussions being very clear very direct about the areas where we have differences and where the United States stands and I have no doubt you will do the same on behalf of China Blinken told WangThere is no substitute in our judgement for facetoface diplomacy in order to try to move forward but also to make sure were as clear as possible about the areas where we have differences at the very least to avoid misunderstandings to avoid miscalculations he saidBlinken arrived in China on Wednesday visiting Shanghai shortly before Biden signed the 95 billion foreign aid package that has several elements likely to anger Beijing including 8 billion to counter Chinas growing aggressiveness toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea It also seeks to force TikToks Chinabased parent company to sell the social media platformChina and the United States are the major players in the IndoPacific Washington has become increasingly alarmed by Beijings growing aggressiveness in recent years toward Taiwan and its smaller Southeast Asian neighbours with which it has significant territorial and maritime disputes in the South China SeaChina has railed against US assistance to Taiwan and immediately condemned the aid as a dangerous provocation It also strongly opposes efforts to force TikToks saleThe bill also allots 61 billion for Ukraine to defend itself from Russias invasion The Biden administration has complained loudly that Chinese support for Russias militaryindustrial sector has allowed Moscow to subvert Western sanctions and ramp up attacks on UkraineUS officials have said Chinas ties with Russia would be a primary topic of conversation during Blinkens visit and just before Fridays meetings began Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would visit China in MayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever