China calls on the United States not to deepen the deterioration of their relations

Communist Party of China (CPC) Foreign Affairs Committee chief Wang Yi explained to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday that his country "You cannot make concessions on the Taiwan issue."

"Protecting national unity is always at the core of China's essential interests and the CPC's historic mission," the diplomat said during the meeting. meeting that both held this Monday in Beijing, reported the local newspaper Global Times.

Wang asked Blinken, who arrived in the Asian country on Sunday for a two-day visit, that the United States "respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and that "oppose Taiwan independence."

Furthermore, Wang explained that "the root cause of the decline in China-US relations is that the US side has a wrong perception of China, which leads to a wrong policy" and recommended that the US country "reflect deeply" and work with Beijing to "manage differences and avoid strategic accidents."

In the opinion of the head of Chinese diplomacy, “it is imperative that the consensus between the two heads of state is actually put into practice” to prevent relations from “deteriorating further”, in reference to the meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Indonesia in November last year.

“We must be responsible before the people, before history and before the world, reverse the deteriorating trend of China-U.S. relations and promote a return to a healthy and stable path," Wang said.

The veteran official urged Blinken for the United States to "Don't speculate on the so-called 'China threat'" since it does not try to "contain the scientific progress" of the Asian country, for which it requested the withdrawal of the "illegal unilateral sanctions" that Washington has applied in recent times against Chinese companies and individuals.

For his part, Blinken indicated that Washington is willing "to return to the agenda established by the two heads of state at their meeting in Indonesia" and that it hopes to "strengthen communication", "manage differences responsibly" and "cooperate in areas of mutual interest".

After the bilateral meeting with Wang, the US Secretary of State has two round tables on the agenda: one with students from his country who are participating in exchange programs in China and another with representatives of American companies that operate in the Asian country, according to the State Department.

However, neither party has confirmed if the US secretary will meet Xi this Monday, last day of your visit.

Blinken's journey began this Sunday with a six-hour meeting with the Foreign Minister Qin Gang with whom he later shared a working dinner.

At that meeting, Qin warned the US representative that bilateral relations “they are at their lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations” and made "clear demands on China's essential interests and major concerns, including the Taiwan question."

Meanwhile, Blinken invited his counterpart to visit the United States, a country where Qin was ambassador before being promoted to chancellor at the end of 2022, and emphasized “the importance of diplomacy and keeping communication channels open in all areas to reduce the risk of miscalculations”, said the spokesman for US diplomacy, Matthew Miller.

Blinken's visit means the highest ranking of a US official to China since the president of the North American country, Joe Biden, began his term in 2021, a period in which bilateral relations have continued to deteriorate due to commercial, geopolitical and economic tensions.