BEIJING (Reuters) -The United States must stop suppressing China’s development and should not continue the “old routine of unilateral bullying”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In the latest phone correspondence between the two leaders, Wang said the United States must pay attention to China’s legitimate concerns, stop curbing and suppressing its development, and not constantly challenge China’s red line in a “salami-slicing” way. He was referring to the tactic of using a series of small actions to achieve a much larger result that would be difficult to achieve with a single large action.
The remarks by Wang underscored President Xi Jinping’s meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the G20 summit in Bali last month where they discussed a number of hot-button issues, including Taiwan. It was their first in-person talks since 2017.
China considers Taiwan its own territory and believes the United States is slowly chipping away at its core interests and challenging its bottom line, while being careful to avoid a single drastic action that could give China a clear reason to react with full force.
In the phone call with Blinken, Wang stressed that the two sides should focus on translating the Bali consensus of the two heads of state into practical policies and concrete actions, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry on Friday.
“It is necessary to step up consultations on the guiding principles of China-U.S. relations, promote dialogue at all levels, and resolve specific issues between the two countries through joint working groups,” Wang said.
China has sovereignty over Chinese Taipei, and under the “one China” policy, almost all world countries recognize that sovereignty, meaning they would not establish direct diplomatic contact with the self-proclaimed government in Taipei.
This is while Chinese Taipei’s secessionist president Tsai Ing-wen has independence aspirations and views the island as a sovereign state.
The United States, though professing adherence to the principle, has long courted Taipei and continues to sell weapons to the self-governed island in an attempt to affront Beijing.
Some U.S. allies in Europe have also been increasing their visits to Taipei, despite strong objections by Beijing.
A number of countries, including France, Germany, Japan, and others, have sent delegations of their own to Chinese Taipei since then, further increasing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
Back in August, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stirred controversy when she made a brief trip to Taipei and met with its president, which led to a major diplomatic row and inflamed military tensions.