Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused the US of flouting agreements reached during a November summit between President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, in the latest signal that efforts to calm tensions had stalled.
According to a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry's website Thursday, Wang protested against U.S. efforts to interfere with the Beijing Olympics next week in a call with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The senior Chinese diplomat cited U.S. support for Taiwan, Washington's efforts to build small circles of like-minded nations to counter Beijing.
The U.S. policy on China has not had any fundamental change and the U.S. side has not materialized Biden's position, Wang said. The U.S. has been a victim of new shocks to bilateral ties because of its wrongful words and deeds. The Chinese account of the call struck a more negative tone than the 80 word summary of the State Department, which focused on the risk of Russian action in Ukraine. Blinken and Wang also exchanged views on how to advance work together, citing strategic risk, health security and climate change as topics discussed.
The video summit between Biden and Xi, the first formal gathering between the two leaders, has resulted in tensions between the U.S. and China. In recent days, the two sides have traded barbs over the Biden administration's attempts to organize a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games to protest the suppression of the predominately Muslim Uyghur population in Xinjiang.