China foreign minister tells Blinken US should respect China’s core concerns

(Reuters) -China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call on Wednesday that the U.S. should stop interfering in the country’s affairs, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.

The high-profile discussion comes ahead of a reported planned visit to Beijing by Washington’s top dipolmat, aimed at stabilising tense relations between the countries around several issues from spy allegations to a semiconductor tussle.

In the call, Qin said he hoped the U.S can meet China half-way, effectively manage differences, and promote communication and cooperation.

Qin also said the U.S. should respect China’s core concerns such as the Taiwan issue. He also hoped to stabilise Sino-U.S. relations and bring ties back to the track of sound and steady development.

The Chinese foreign ministry has yet to reveal information on Blinken’s trip, but a U.S. official last Friday said Blinken would be in Beijing on June 18, giving no other details.

In February, Blinken cancelled a planned trip to Beijing, which would have been the first by a U.S. secretary of state in five years, over a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States.

(Reporting bu Beijing newsroon; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Lincoln Feast.)

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