Beijing warns Washington against crossing “red lines” to avoid CONFRONTATION

05/03/2024 / By Belle Carter

Amid calls of cooperation with its rival superpower, China has warned the U.S. against crossing “red lines” under threat of confrontation.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi issued this warning during his April 25 meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Wang remarked that even though the “giant ship” of China-U.S. ties had stabilized, negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and building.

According to Wang, the U.S. has been challenging China’s core interests and suppressing the country’s development. Despite this, Beijing is interested in “stable, healthy and sustainable” relations and “win-win cooperation” with Washington. But China’s top diplomat also mentioned that bilateral ties face “all kinds of disruptions” – leading to his warning that Beijing and Washington could either engage in cooperation or confrontation, the latter if anything goes wrong.

While Wang did not mention it outright, his remarks ostensibly pertained to tensions around the self-governing Taiwan – which the mainland considers as a province. Despite agreeing with the “One China” policy on paper, Washington maintains ties with Taipei and supplies it with weapons.

“Washington should not interfere in Chinese internal affairs or cross Beijing’s ‘red lines’ when it comes to the nation’s sovereignty, security and development,” the Chinese foreign minister stressed.

Blinken arrived at the Chinese capital from the eastern city of Shanghai on April 25, urging the Chinese government to provide a level playing field for American firms in the country.

“There’s no substitute, in our judgment, for face-to-face diplomacy” between the U.S. and China, he remarked. The secretary of state also told his Chinese counterpart that the Biden administration “wants to ensure that we’re as clear as possible about the areas where we have differences, at the very least to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations.”

Chinese support for Russia a major focus of Blinken’s visit

Officials from the U.S. Department of State indicated that China’s alleged support for Russia amid the latter’s conflict with Ukraine would top Blinken’s agenda during his visit to Beijing. While China hasn’t supplied any weapons to Russia, U.S. officials claim Chinese-made circuitry, aircraft parts and machine tools have been helping Moscow boost its military-industrial capacity.

Citing alleged informed sources, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 26 that U.S. authorities are preparing sanctions that would target Chinese companies and cut off some of the country’s banks from the global financial system.

Blinken urged Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping to cut back on his nation’s support for Russia’s defense industry during a separate meeting on April 26, noting that “Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support.” The secretary of state also warned that Washington is prepared to act if Beijing didn’t heed its concerns. (Related: Blinken meets with Xi in Beijing as China puts onus on US to stabilize deteriorating relations.)

Ties between the two nations have also been strained by China’s claims over the South China Sea and U.S. export bans on advanced technology. They were further damaged by a row over a spy balloon last February. Then, just a few days ago, the U.S. passed a law that would force Chinese-owned TikTok to sell the hugely popular video app or be banned in America. Washington also approved its latest aid package early this week which included military assistance to Taiwan. This drew sharp criticism from Beijing.

Visit CommunistChina.news for stories related to U.S.-China relations.

Watch China expert Gordon Chang explaining why U.S. President Joe Biden forging relations with China is the “biggest diplomatic mistake” he has committed in the clip below.

This video is from the NewsCips channel on Brighteon.com.