Array
China’s top diplomat sharply reprimanded the Biden administration in a meeting with the American ambassador in Beijing on Monday, according to Chinese officials, saying Washington alone is to blame for spiking tensions between the world’s two most powerful nations.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told Ambassador Nicholas Burns that “a series of erroneous words and deeds” by the Biden administration — particularly relating to U.S. support for Taiwan — has increased tensions. He went on to claim the “top priority” now is to “stabilize” the relationship to prevent a “downward spiral.”
A Foreign Ministry summary of Mr. Qin’s remarks made no mention of China’s own actions, such as the suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over the U.S. homeland, its rhetorical support for Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, its expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea or Beijing’s increasingly aggressive military posture toward Taiwan.
Mr. Burns tweeted a photo of the meeting Monday and offered only a terse, neutral summary of the talks, saying he and Mr. Qin “discussed challenges in the U.S.-China relationship and the necessity of stabilizing ties and expanding high-level communication.” Mr. Burns and other top administration officials have signaled in recent days a desire to return to more frequent and regular talks between senior leaders in Beijing and Washington.
The meeting in Beijing was the first between Mr. Burns and Mr. Qin since the early-February spy balloon incident that ended when President Biden ordered the U.
