"China and the US face a choice between stability and a downward spiral".
This was stated by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Beijing, CNN reported.
"Should China and the US stick to the right direction of moving forward with stability or return to a downward spiral? This is the main issue facing our two countries and tests our sincerity and ability," China's top diplomat said.
"Should our two countries lead international cooperation in fighting global problems and achieve mutual benefit for all? Or engage in rivalry and confrontation - or even fall into conflict, which would be a loss for all?" he added. .
On April 24, Joe Biden signed a bill that could lead to a nationwide ban on the social media platform TikTok if Chinese parent company ByteDance doesn't sell it — legislation that Beijing has already condemned.
During the meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Blinken emphasized the "shared responsibility" between the two countries to "make sure that we are as clear as possible in the areas where we have differences, at least to avoid misunderstandings, to avoid miscalculations."
"I hope that we will be able to make some progress on the issues that our presidents have agreed that we need to cooperate on, but also clarify our differences, our intentions and make it very clear to each other where we stand," he said. the secretary of state, referring to the meeting between the presidents of China and the United States in California in November 2023.
Blinken is expected to raise the issue of China's industrial and economic support for Russia. According to Washington, it is this support that has allowed the Kremlin to wage a protracted war in Ukraine. The Secretary of State will try to persuade China to apply pressure on Iran in order to avoid further escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
Ahead of the meeting, a Chinese foreign ministry official said Beijing was "playing a constructive role as a responsible major country" on issues related to the Middle East, Ukraine, the Korean Peninsula, and "expects the US side to do the same."
Within the framework of the talks with Blinken, Wang Yi is likely to raise the issue of Taiwan, which Beijing regards as its territory./BGNES