Antony Blinken pins China during meet with Chinese President Xi for backing Russia
Chinese President Xi Jinping in his meeting with Blinken reiterated Beijing’s concerns alleging that US was suppressing its economic development. Xi told Reuters, “This is a fundamental issue that must be addressed, just like the first button of a shirt that must be put right, in order for the China-US relationship to truly stabilise, improve and move forward.” (Image: Reuters)In the meeting that lasted over five hours, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pointed out concerns about China’s support for the Russian military to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Issues relating to Taiwan, the South China Sea and other flashpoints were also part of the talks. (Image: AP)China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi while hinting at Taiwan and South China Sea told Blinken that US must not step on “red lines” of sovereignty, security and development interests, as per Reuters. (Image: AP)On the last day of his visit, US diplomat achieved little progress on a number of contentious issues including US complaints about cheap Chinese exports, as per Reuters. Meanwhile, the two countries’ focus has shifted on issues like people-to-people exchanges. (Image: AP)China has kept away from providing weapons to Russia for its war against Russia, even after signing “no limits” partnership with Moscow. However, US officials have stressed that Chinese companies are helping the arms industry and hence reversing the Russia-Ukraine war. US officials highlighted that bigger machine tool imports from China have helped Russia increase its ballistic missile production, as per Reuters. (Image: Reuters)China denied claims made by US officials and said that it is “not a producer of or party involved in the Ukraine crisis”. Meanwhile, the normal trade between China and Russia should not be affected, added China. (Image: AP)Blinken also met China’s minister of public security, Wang Xiaohong, along with senior US officials to discuss the fentanyl issue with a focus on anti-narcotics collaboration with China. (Image: AP)
