US, China discuss relations, war in Ukraine: State Dept
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discuss relations after recent deterioration.
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US, China discuss deteriorating relations: State Dept.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the feud between the two superpowers and the war in Ukraine, in a call on Sunday, the State Department said.
The top diplomats discussed the need to "responsibly manage the competition between our two countries," Blinken said in a tweet.
In my call with PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi, we spoke about our efforts to responsibly manage the competition between our two countries, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and support for Haiti.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 31, 2022
They also emphasized the necessity for Beijing and Washington to maintain open lines of communication and discussed the conflict in Ukraine, according to the US State Department.
"The Secretary discussed the need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the US-PRC relationship," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement, adding that Blinken "raised Russia's war against Ukraine and the threats it poses to global security and economic stability."
On its part, Beijing said Wang had raised on the call recent sanctions by the US on China aimed at limiting its access to high-end semiconductors with military uses and had called for "diplomatic efforts" in Ukraine.
"The US side should stop its efforts to contain and suppress China, and not create new obstacles to the relationship between the two countries," a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
"Wang Yi pointed out that bringing China-US relations back to the track of stable development is not only in the common interests of China and the US, but also the general expectation of the international community," it added.
China has steadfastly blamed the United States and NATO for the war, instead of riding on the Western wave against Russia.
The call comes as relations between the two countries deteriorate over Taiwan and a slew of other issues, and it is the first between the top diplomats since Blinken accused China of speeding up its preparations to incorporate the island into its mainland.
Relations between the two deteriorated drastically after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defied Chinese warnings and visited Taiwan, then followed other US delegates who paved the way for more foreign officials in full defiance of China.
Read next: Beijing condemns visit of Canadian officials to Taiwan
Earlier this month, the United States increased Taiwan's weapons stockpiles after China conducted military exercises around the island, in response to the US official visits to the island, according to a report published by The New York Times.
