US deputy secretary of state, Chinese ambassador hold ‘substantive’ call after Antony Blinken’s trip
- In phone conversation with Chinese ambassador Xie Feng, Wendy Sherman followed up on issues discussed during the secretary of state’s visit to Beijing
- Working-level dialogue under way as a result of Blinken’s meetings with the Chinese leadership, says State Department spokesman
Xie last week warned of “consequences” against the US for the negative comments about China’s top leader and questioned “the sincerity of the US side” about stabilising fraught bilateral ties.
During his conversation with Sherman, Xie once again urged Washington to “properly handle” important and sensitive issues, such as Taiwan.
Just hours after Blinken wrapped up his Beijing trip last Monday, the Chinese foreign ministry in a media briefing accused the US of back-pedalling on its previous commitments on Taiwan, in a sign of continuing tensions over the self-ruled island.
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Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must be brought under mainland control, by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise the island as an independent state. However, Washington opposes any military attack.
Xie on Tuesday also called on the US to “demonstrate respect and remove obstacles with concrete actions” as well as to enhance dialogue, manage differences and cooperate to gradually bring bilateral relations “back to the right track”.
His message echoed recent remarks by China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, who on Monday asked the US to “fulfil the promises” it has made “many times” during his meeting in Beijing with a visiting US delegation that included former treasury secretary Jacob Lew.
Wang attributed the root cause of the strain in China-US relations to a “serious miscalibration” in Washington’s understanding and positioning of China and an ensuing “series of wrong measures”.
“The US should genuinely respect China’s legitimate development rights, adhere to the one-China principle [and] maintain the political foundation of China-US relations,” he said.
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Lew, who now chairs the non-partisan National Committee on US-China Relations, was accompanied by the committee’s president Steve Orlins and vice-chairman Maurice Greenberg.
Wang urged Washington to implement the consensus reached in November between Xi and Biden in Bali, which was among the matters agreed to by the two countries during Blinken’s trip to Beijing.
In a regular briefing in Washington on Tuesday, Miller said “a number of conversations … are happening at the sub-cabinet level now about following up on some of the issues that the secretary discussed”.
Since Blinken’s visit, US and Chinese officials have had discussions about when a visit to Washington by Foreign Minister Qin Gang might occur, but a date has yet to be scheduled, Miller said.
02:03
Blinken and Qin Gang agree to continue talks after ‘constructive’ US-China meeting in Beijing
In a readout released ahead of Tuesday’s briefing, the State Department said Sherman “reiterated … the importance of maintaining open channels of communication across the full range of issues”.
The Chinese embassy said that Xie and Sherman exchanged views on “issues of common interest” and the two sides agreed to maintain communication.
“A sound and stable China-US relationship is in the interest of both countries, and is also a shared expectation of the international community,” Xie said, according to an embassy readout.
