China's foreign minister, Qin Gang, and US ambassador, Nicholas Burns, have met in Beijing to discuss the state of relations between the two nations. During the meeting, Qin stated that a "series of erroneous words and deeds" by the US had placed relations on "cold ice," but stabilizing ties was a "top priority."
This was their first meeting since a dispute over a Chinese balloon fractured efforts to mend ties earlier this year. Tensions between the two nations have been high since February, after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over the continental US and was subsequently shot down by the American military, leading to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponing a planned trip to Beijing.
Qin accused the US of undermining the "hard-won positive momentum" following a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in Indonesia last year. He urged the US to "reflect deeply" and "meet China halfway" to improve bilateral relations.
He also stated that Washington must respect China's sovereignty, security, and development interests, particularly on the issue of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own. The US has a longstanding "one China" policy, which acknowledges Beijing's position that Taiwan is part of China but has never officially recognized the Chinese Communist Party's claim to the democratic island. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is also bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
Monday's meeting was Qin's first with Burns since the former Chinese ambassador to the US was promoted to foreign minister in December. Burns has expressed that the US is "ready to talk" to China and hopes the Chinese will meet them halfway.
Talks on major issues, from climate change to military relations, were cut off in August last year by Beijing in response to then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei. The two sides resumed climate talks after Xi and Biden's meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, last November.