Chinese foreign minister says Taiwan issue is biggest threat to Sino-US ties

China’s struggling economy may also dampen Beijing’s appetite for what have been more combative ties with Washington amid improving Chinese relations with Russia.

In San Francisco, Xi and Biden agreed to open a presidential hotline, resume military-to-military communications, and work to curb fentanyl production but remained at odds with Taiwan.

China claims the island as its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.

The meeting on Jan 27 was the latest quiet engagement between Wang and Sullivan – who reports directly to Biden – with both having met previously away from the media to try to lower the temperature.

Wang, according to a Foreign Ministry statement, told Sullivan the two countries should treat each other as equals and respect their core interests, rather than undermine them, and “build mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation” to establish the “correct way for China and the United States to get along”.

Wang said Taiwan was China’s internal affair, and a recent election there “cannot change the basic fact that Taiwan is a part of China”.

China criticised the US on Jan 25 for causing “trouble and provocation” after the US Navy sailed its first warship through the sensitive waters separating China and Taiwan since the election.

The US is Taiwan’s biggest ally and arms supplier, but acknowledges China’s position that there is “one China” and Taiwan is part of it.

“The biggest risk to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is ‘Taiwan independence’ and the biggest challenge to China-US relations is also ‘Taiwan independence’,” Wang was quoted as saying.

Wang told Sullivan all countries had national security concerns, “but they must be legitimate and reasonable”, the Foreign Ministry statement added.

The White House, in a statement, said both Wang and Sullivan recognised recent progress in resuming military-to-military communication and the importance of maintaining those channels.

“Sullivan stressed that although the US and China compete, both countries need to prevent it from veering into conflict or confrontation.”

It said the two countries would hold the first meeting of the China-US intergovernmental dialogue mechanism on artificial intelligence this spring.

Reuters