(Munich) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday expressed his concerns about Beijing’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine to his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, who asked Washington to lift US sanctions on Chinese entities.
The meeting with Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Security Conference in Munich, Germany, comes as part of efforts by China and the United States to stabilize a tense relationship, in the wake of the summit between the American leaders Joe Biden and Chinese Xi Jinping, which took place last November in California.
The head of American diplomacy stressed “the importance of continuing to implement the progress made” during this summit, declared State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Mr. Blinken particularly insisted on the importance of “maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea,” according to Mr. Miller.
He also recalled Washington’s concern “about China’s support for Russia in its war in Ukraine, including the support provided to the Russian defense industry”, according to the same source.
Wang echoed Blinken’s sentiment on the Biden-Xi summit, saying the two sides should work to “promote healthy, steady and sustainable development of bilateral relations,” according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement. .
Concerns about Moscow
After a particularly tense period at the start of last year, linked to the affair of the Chinese balloon that flew over the United States, Washington and Beijing are showing their desire to manage their relationship “responsibly” and are eager to progress in certain areas. cooperation such as the fight against fentanyl.
The ministry said the two sides held “frank, substantive and constructive discussions,” with Wang calling on the United States to “lift illegal unilateral sanctions against Chinese companies and individuals.”
Wang also urged the United States to “end unwarranted harassment and interrogation of Chinese citizens and promote activities that enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples,” the ministry said.
Beijing criticizes the United States for its influence in the Asia-Pacific and its support for independence in Taiwan.
Washington, for its part, denounces Beijing’s expansionist aims in the South China Sea in particular, as well as its industrial policy.
On the subject of Russia, Antony Blinken also expressed fears linked to Russia’s development of an anti-satellite capability, we learned from an American official.
The White House said Thursday that Russia was developing “an anti-satellite capability,” while refusing to say whether it had a nuclear dimension or not.
She stressed at the same time that this did not represent “an immediate threat”.