Beijing urges US to ‘end obsession with containing China’ ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit
- A commentary in the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily appeals to Washington to seek common ground and shun a ‘blind anti-China approach’
- The expected trip to China follows a meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden last year, but is not expected to lead to a major shift in relations
“The US should end its obsession with containing China,” a commentary in the Communist Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily said on Wednesday.
“[The two countries] have had differences and disputes in the past, have them in the present and will also do so in the future, but this should not be an obstacle to developing our bilateral relationship,” the commentary said.
The article warned the US not to adopt a “blind anti-China approach” and urged Washington to find “common ground” for both sides to tackle the global economic recovery, climate change and geopolitical issues.
The piece attributed to “Zhong Sheng” – a pen name used for commentaries on major international affairs in China’s flagship state media – repeated a series of demands President Xi Jinping made when meeting his US counterpart Joe Biden last year.
Xi warned the US president to avoid a new cold war, not to support Taiwanese independence and to stop working with its allies against China.
“The Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests, the basis of the political foundation of Sino-US relations, and the first insurmountable red line in Sino-US relations,” it said.