Washington: Our relationship with China is cooperation, competition and confrontation

On Saturday, the United States sent a warning to China about Taiwan, hours before a virtual summit scheduled for Monday between US Presidents Joe Biden and Chinese Xi Jinping.


US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in a call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, "expressed his concern over the People's Republic of China's continued military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan," according to a US State Department statement.


Biden and Jinping will hold a video meeting on Monday, which is the third between the two heads of state, while differences are accumulating between Washington and Beijing, both of which are firm in their positions on several files, including Taiwan. The conversation between Blinken and Wang is aimed at preparing for the summit between the two presidents.


Blinken called on "Beijing to engage in meaningful dialogue" to resolve its differences with Taipei "peacefully and in accordance with the wishes and interests of the people of Taiwan," according to the US State Department.


Relations between the two largest economies in the world have deteriorated in recent weeks, against the background of several files, from trade to human rights to China's regional ambitions, which prompted Biden to strengthen his regional alliances in Asia.


Tensions have risen in recent weeks over Taiwan's fate.


After Biden's statements, which indicated that the United States was ready to intervene if China attacked the island, American diplomats returned to a traditional and more cautious line, doubling the warnings and emphasizing their will to "deter" Beijing from any military intervention.


In this atmosphere of tension, Monday's talks are taking place in line with Washington's desire to keep the "channels of communication" open at the highest level, after contacts at the ministerial level did not always go well in recent times.


China's Foreign Ministry said Wang told his US counterpart that "the two sides should meet halfway" during the talks between Xi and Biden.

He also assured Blinken that Washington should stop sending "wrong signals" about Taiwan's status.


"Our relationship with China is one of the most important and complex," Blinken said Friday.


"There are different dimensions: cooperation, competition and confrontation, and we will work on these three aspects simultaneously," he added, welcoming China to make "some progress" on climate-related issues.

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