INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised concerns on Friday about China&s support for Russia&s military, one of the many issues threatening
to sour the recent improvement in relations between the world&s biggest economies.Blinken raised the matter during five-and-a-half hours of
talks with China&s top diplomat Wang Yi in Beijing, the latest high-level contact between the countries that have reduced the acrimony that
pushed ties to historic lows last year.The U.S
diplomat is due to wrap up his visit on Friday with little progress on a raft of contentious issues including U.S
complaints about cheap Chinese exports
Instead, both sides are focusing on pragmatic issues like people-to-people exchanges.&The Secretary discussed concerns about PRC support to
the Russian defense industrial base,& U.S
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, adding the two sides also discussed Taiwan, the South China Sea and other flashpoints.The
PRC is short for China&s official name, the People&s Republic of China.Despite its &no limits& partnership with Moscow, China has steered
clear of providing arms for Russia&s war in Ukraine.But U.S
officials warn its companies are helping the weapons industry with an unprecedented build up that has helped to turn the tide of the war
For example, bigger machine tool imports from China have helped Russia increase its ballistic missile production, they say.The U.S
officials say such assistance risks hurting the broader bilateral relationship, even as ties stabilise after being hit by then-House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi&s visit to Taiwan in 2022 and the U.S
downing of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon in February 2023.China has said it has not provided weaponry to any party, adding that
it is ¬ a producer of or party involved in the Ukraine crisis&
However, it says that normal trade between China and Russia should not be interrupted or restricted.STEADYING THE SHIPIn addition to his
talks with Wang, Blinken met Chinese President Xi Jinping, who reiterated Beijing&s concerns that the United States was suppressing its
economic development.&This is a fundamental issue that must be addressed, just like the first button of a shirt that must be put right, in
relationship to truly stabilise, improve and move forward,& Xi said.Earlier, Wang told Blinken that the &giant ship& of the China-U.S
ties had stabilised, &but negative factors in the relationship are still increasing and building.&Wang also said the U.S
had taken &endless& measures to suppress China&s economy, trade, science and technology, equating such steps to containment.&And the
relationship is facing all kinds of disruptions
China&s legitimate development rights have been unreasonably suppressed and our core interests are facing challenges,& Wang told Blinken.The
agenda for the talks had been set during the November summit between Biden and Xi in San Francisco and a follow-up call in
April.Underscoring the growing discord between the two sides, hours before Blinken landed in China on Wednesday, U.S
President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill that included $8 billion to counter China&s military might, as well as billions in defence aid
for Taiwan and $61 billion for Ukraine.Wang said the U.S
must not step on &red lines& covering sovereignty, security and development interests & an apparent reference to Taiwan, the democratically
governed island that China claims as its own, and the disputed South China Sea.Other issues on the table include artificial intelligence and
push for progress on the curbing of China&s supply of the chemicals used to make fentanyl.Blinken, along with senior U.S
officials focused on anti-narcotics collaboration with China, met China&s minister of public security, Wang Xiaohong, to discuss the
fentanyl issue.Ahead of Friday&s talks, U.S
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen signalled that Biden was not taking any options off the table to respond to China&s excess industrial
capacity.Wang said that the U.S
should stop &hyping up& the &false narrative& of China&s overcapacity. (Reuters)The post In Beijing, Blinken meets Xi and raises US
concerns about China&s support for Russia first appeared on Ariana News.
