Photo: PICTURE ALLIANCE/M. SCHIEFELBEIN / Deutsche Welle
Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe held a conversation this Wednesday (04.20.2022) with United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, in which he asked the United States not to use “the Ukrainian issue to defame or threaten China”, according to a statement from the Defense portfolio of the Asian country.
During the call, which occurred according to the statement at the initiative of Austin, Wei also called for “the end of the maritime provocations of the United States.” The defense minister emphasized that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China” and warned Austin that mishandling the Taiwan issue “will have a negative impact on relations” between China and the US.
Likewise, Wei assured that both superpowers must “respect each other, coexist peacefully and avoid confrontation” and declared that his country “hopes to establish a healthy and stable relationship” with the North American nation, while asking that the Chinese and American Armies “improve their mutual trust and strengthen dialogue and exchanges”.
For his part, Austin explained that the United States is willing to promote the implementation of the consensus reached by the two heads of state, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, during a videoconference meeting held in November 2021, and recommended that China and the United States “ manage their competition responsibly”.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, China has maintained an ambiguous position – it avoids using the word ‘invasion’ – and insists both on “respect for the territorial integrity of all countries” and on the attention that should be paid to ” legitimate security demands” of Russia.
Mentions of the United States have been a constant in the appearances of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which has accused the North American country of “stoking tensions and creating panic” and of “adding more fuel to the fire” for the delivery of weapons to kyiv and for the sanctions imposed on Russia, which China opposes.
In addition, Chinese diplomats and representatives have rejected any comparison between the war in Ukraine and the situation in Taiwan, an island whose sovereignty Beijing claims.
China has called the passage of US warships through the Taiwan Strait in recent months a provocation. The island is one of the main sources of conflict between China and the United States, mainly because Washington is Taiwan’s main arms supplier and would be its greatest military ally in the event of a war with China.
loves (efe, afp, reuters)
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