China’s new ambassador to the US on Wednesday described a recent flurry of diplomatic activity between Beijing and Washington as “constructive”, but cautioned more work was required to mend the fraught relationship.
In the past month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and most recently climate envoy John Kerry have all travelled to China to meet top officials.
Ambassador Xie Feng said recent discussions “proved to be in depth, candid and constructive” but warned that problems persist.
“China-US relations is facing serious difficulties,” Mr Xie said while speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, an annual event held in Colorado that brings together global leaders in diplomacy and security.
He criticised the US approach to Beijing, which he said was predicated on competition.
“Frankly speaking, China is opposed to any kind of trade war or technological war under the pretext of competition,” he said.
The ambassador accused Washington of “trying to win by keeping China out” and pointed to Washington's ban on Chinese telecoms company Huawei from 5G networks.
“China does not shy away from competition but the definition of competition defined by the US side, I think is not fair,” Mr Xie said.
US-China relations have been frosty under President Joe Biden, with tension rising between the two powers since Washington shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was travelling across North America in February.
The US has been calling for open military-to-military communications between the two powers, but so far Beijing has refused.
Despite this, Mr Xie concluded his conversation in Aspen on a positive note.
“Let us reverse this zero-sum game and turn it into a win-win game,” he told the crowd.
