China holds 'candid, substantive and constructive' talks with visiting Blinken

ANKARA

A top Chinese official has said meetings and talks with the visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken were candid, substantive, and constructive, state-run media reported Saturday.

Yang Tao, director-general of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of China's Foreign Ministry, said President Xi Jinping during his meeting with Blinken told him that Beijing is not afraid of competition, but competition should be about progressing together instead of playing a zero-sum game.

"China is committed to non-alliance, and the US should not create small blocs," state-run Global Times quoted Yang as saying.

Blinken, who arrived in China earlier Wednesday on a three-day visit, also met with his counterpart Wang Yi and other officials. This was his second visit to China in less than a year.

Yang added that the meeting between Foreign Minister Wang and Blinken lasted for five and a half hours where the two sides exchanged in-depth views on China-US relations, as well as international and regional affairs.

"Wang clarified China's position on major issues involving China's core concerns such as strategic perception, the Taiwan question, economic, and technological issues, the South China Sea, and the US' Indo-Pacific strategy," he said.

"The logic of great power rivalry and the zero-sum thinking of the Cold War are not in China's DNA, nor are they China's way of behavior. China welcomes a confident, open, and prosperous US and hopes that the US side can also view China's development positively," said the Chinese official.

Taiwan, South China Sea

On the Taiwan question, Yang called it the "first red line" and said the US must not cross it in relations between the two powers.

"China emphasizes that if the US truly hopes for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, it should faithfully abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, refrain from sending wrong signals to the ‘Taiwan independence’ secessionist forces in any way, stop arming Taiwan, and support China's peaceful reunification," he added.

Regarding the South China Sea issue, Yang said Washington must stop hyping up the so-called "overcapacity" in China "false narrative" and revoke all "illegal" sanctions against Chinese companies.

"China has sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, including Ren'ai Jiao (Ren'ai Reef), with a full historical and legal basis. China has always abided by international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and no country can attempt to challenge China's legitimate rights and interests through illegal arbitration," he said.

The Philippines and China have conflicting claims over Second Thomas Shoal, also known as Ayungin Shoal, Bai Co May, and Ren'ai Jiao, which is a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea.