Beijing has urged Washington to “respect” China's “core interests” as well as “uphold the one-China principle” as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to visit the US, Chinese state media reported.
The reiteration of Beijing’s concerns was raised by Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a face-to-face meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Philippines on Wednesday.
They met on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting in Manila. The Philippines is the current chair of the 11-member bloc.
“(The) US side should properly manage differences, (and) address China's legitimate concerns,” Wang told Rubio, according to Xinhua News. The two sides were likely to discuss Xi's expected trip to the US this September.
The two sides said the meeting was “practical, positive and constructive,” according to a readout by Beijing, which added that they “agreed to make good preparations for the next stage of China-US high-level exchanges.”
Wang's meeting with Rubio came days after US President Donald Trump accused China of interfering in US elections, a claim dismissed by Beijing and disputed by many American election security experts.
Arms sale to Taiwan under ‘review’
Rubio told reporters after the meeting with Wang that a US arms sale to Taiwan “continues to be under review.”
In May, the US announced that it was pausing a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan because of Washington’s war with Tehran.
China considers Taiwan its “breakaway province,” and has opposed US weapon sales to the island, which has insisted on its independence since 1949.
Noting that the US had approved one of the largest single arms sales, worth more than $11 billion to Taiwan in December, Rubio said a $14 billion arms sale is “still undergoing a review internally.”
"There's a lot of reasons why arms (sales) are under review, and … we have to look at our own stockpiles. We have to look at the availability of whatever it is we're promising to do,” he said, referring to US arms sales to Ukraine.
“And we do have our own domestic needs that have to be balanced with whatever commitments we make to other countries. So, it would be normal for a large sale to be reviewed in that context,” said Rubio.
Trump visited China in May, where he also extended an invitation to Xi to visit this fall.
Wang stated that this year was a "big year" in China-US relations, according to the statement.
Xi and Trump “successfully held a historic meeting in Beijing, defining the constructive strategic and stable relationship between China and the US and outlining directions for joint efforts,” said Wang, noting the Beijing meeting between Chinese and US presidents.
“This is an important step forward for the two major powers in exploring the path of peaceful coexistence, which is in line with the fundamental interests of the two peoples and the common expectations of the international community,” said the Chinese foreign minister.
Rubio and Wang had held their first face-to-face meeting in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur last year, on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit. The two have held several calls, while Rubio also accompanied Trump to Beijing during his state visit in May.
