The US should stop trying to suppress China, says Wang Yi

BEIJING, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his U.S. counterpart on Monday that the United States should stop trying to contain and suppress China and avoid creating obstacles to the relationship of the two countries.

Wang also said in a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the export controls that Washington has imposed on China seriously harm its legitimate rights and must be rectified, according to a statement from the ministry of Chinese Foreign Affairs.

In the call, Blinken discussed Russia’s war against Ukraine and the threats it poses to global security and economic stability, the US State Department said in a separate statement.

The United States has repeatedly stressed the need to keep lines of communication open between the two countries, but recently highlighted the implications if Beijing supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s strategic partner, China, has been adamant about the war in Ukraine, criticizing Western sanctions against Russia, but does not stop at approving or assisting the military campaign.

Blinken also discussed with his Chinese counterpart the need to responsibly manage US-China relations, according to the statement.

State Department spokesman Ned Price told a news briefing Monday that the call, which he said lasted about 70 minutes, was productive and professional.

“Any notion that our policy is directed against China or any other country in the world is not true. It is true, of course, that we have deep disagreements with the PRC (People’s Republic of China) in a number of areas,” Price. he said.

He added that the United States had not heard anything new from Wang about China’s approach to Russia’s war.

Last week, President Joe Biden said the United States was not seeking conflict with China and President Xi Jinping said China was willing to work with the United States to find ways to achieve mutual benefit. .

The remarks come ahead of the G20 Summit in Bali next month in which the two leaders could meet.

Price said he had no update on whether Blinken and Wang had discussed prospects for a Xi-Biden meeting, and referred back to the White House on any plans.

Reporting by Albee Zhang, Bernard Orr, Tony Munroe, Humeyra Pamuk and Michael Martina; Editing by Nick Macfie and Alistair Bell

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