Chinese senior diplomat Yang Jiechi spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday during a phone conversation, the first official contact between the two countries after the new U.S. administration under President Joe Biden took office on January 20.
Yang called for "no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation" when speaking of bilateral ties. "Let's each manage our own business," Yang told Blinken.
The Chinese diplomat, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, also urged Washington to "correct its mistakes."
'Taiwan issue, core of China-U.S. relationship'
Describing Taiwan as "the most important and sensitive problem" in the relationship between China and U.S., Yang told Washington to strictly abide by the one-China policy and the three China-U.S. joint communiques. In the documents, Washington recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the sole legal government of China and thus, should stop any form of official exchange and military contact with southeast China's Taiwan region.
The Taiwan issue serves as one of the contributing factors to souring China-U.S. relations. During former U.S. President Donald Trump's tenure, Washington has moved closer to Taiwan with a slew of moves, including high-level official visits, arms sales to the island and lifting of "self-imposed" restrictions on interactions.
"China will continue to firmly preserve our sovereignty, safety and interest of development," Yang said according to an official release.
In response, Blinken reiterated the U.S. commitment to the one-China policy. "Our stance on that has not changed," he said.
According to statement from the White House, Blinken also extended his best wishes for the upcoming Chinese New Year. The U.S. is hoping to work out stably developed and constructive bilateral ties with China, he added.
