China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang has accused the US of making mistakes that have brought bilateral relations to a standstill. Speaking to US Ambassador to Beijing Nicholas Burns, Qin stated that “wrong words and actions” by the US had weakened the momentum of progress in relations between the two countries, which had been difficult to achieve.
Qin acknowledged that bilateral relations had improved after Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden pledged to strengthen dialogue at a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Indonesia in November 2022. However, he claimed that the program of dialogue and cooperation agreed upon by the two sides had been interrupted due to the US’s actions, causing bilateral relations to fall back into a state of tension.
Tensions between the two sides have continued to escalate since the US shot down a Chinese airship that entered its airspace in February. The US has also accused China of considering supplying weapons to Russia during the operation in Ukraine, although Beijing has repeatedly denied this.
Last month, China conducted a large-scale exercise around Taiwan following a meeting between the island’s leader Tsai Ing-wen and US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles.
Qin stressed the need to stabilize US-China relations, prevent any unexpected incidents from happening between the two countries, and avoid falling into a downward spiral. US officials have not commented on Qin’s remarks.
US Ambassador Burns stated on May 2 that Washington’s diplomatic door remains open and that they are waiting for Beijing to take action to improve relations. He added that the US “never hesitated” to negotiate and hoped China would compromise.
The US-China relationship has been strained in recent years due to differences over several issues, including Taiwan, trade war, and the origin of Covid-19. China considers Taiwan a province awaiting reunification and has vowed to use force if necessary, while the US does not establish formal relations with Taiwan but is the main supplier of weapons to the island.