KARUIZAWA, Japan (Reuters) – The United States is able to move forward with its relationship with China following President Joe Biden’s meeting with leader Xi Jinping last year, but that requires Beijing to make clear its own intentions, Washington’s top diplomat said on Tuesday.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the comment at a news conference at the conclusion of the Group of Seven (G7) meeting of rich democracies in Japan’s town of Karuizawa.
Biden met Xi in Indonesia in November for a three-hour meeting aimed at preventing strained ties between the two nations from spilling into a new Cold War.
China’s foreign ministry urged the U.S. to stop claiming to put “guardrails” on both countries’ relations.
“The United States has formulated and implemented incorrect policies towards China based on its incorrect understanding of China,” ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular briefing, blaming this for the current tense state of ties.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Laurie Chen and Liz Lee in Beijing; Editing by Kim Coghill and Clarence Fernandez)