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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) before a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, in New York, New York, United States -United, September 27, 2024 (POOL/AFP/Heather Khalifa)
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken again accused Beijing on Friday of supporting the “Russian war machine” in Ukraine during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, as the two rival powers try to stabilize a tumultuous relationship.
The American Secretary of State said he had expressed to him the “deep concern (of the United States) about the support provided by China to the Russian defense industry, which fuels the Russian war machine and perpetuates the war against which China claims to want to put an end to.
“We do not intend to seek to dissociate Russia from China,” continued Mr. Blinken during a press conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
“Their relationship is their business, but to the extent that that relationship involves providing Russia with what it needs to continue this war, that’s a problem for us,” he said.
He cited as an example the fact that Chinese companies supply 70% of Russia’s machine tools and 90% of its electronic products.
Friday’s meeting comes days after US President Joe Biden said China was putting Asia and the United States “to the test” due to its increasingly “aggressive” behavior, particularly at sea. of southern China and vis-à-vis Taiwan.
Beijing considers the island as one of its provinces and denounces Washington’s support for Taiwan, as well as the passage of American warships, and, for the first time this week, Japanese, through the Taiwan Strait.
High-level meetings are increasing between Chinese and Americans to ease tensions.
According to a press release from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during his meeting with Antony Blinken, Wang Yi denounced the “repression” of the Chinese economy, its trade and its technological sector by the United States.
“Since the United States has repeatedly said that it does not intend to be in confrontation with China, a rational understanding of China, an appropriate mode of coexistence should be established” and “a respectful dialogue”, Mr. Wang further affirmed to his American counterpart, according to the Chinese press release.
Wang Yi and Antony Blinken, according to the latter, agreed on the “importance” of Chinese leaders Xi Jinping and American leaders Joe Biden being able to communicate with each other.
The US Secretary of State said he expected this to be the case in the “coming weeks”, without however confirming a date or format.
Their last interview dates back to April. But the two leaders could meet on the sidelines of summits in Brazil and Peru.
Despite their numerous differences, including commercial ones against a backdrop of American sanctions targeting Chinese electronics, Washington and Beijing cooperate in other areas such as the fight against synthetic drugs or the climate, noted Mr. Blinken.
© 2024 AFP
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