Beijing:
China’s foreign minister Qin Gang held talks with the US ambassador on Monday, Beijing said, saying the “top priority” was to stabilize relations between the rival powers.
Qin’s talks with Nicholas Burns in Beijing are one of the highest meetings between the two countries since Washington shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon over the United States in early February.
The incident prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly call off a rare trip to China.
According to Chinese state media, Qin told Burns: “The top priority is to stabilize China-US relations, avoid a downward spiral and prevent accidents between China and the United States.
“This should be the basic consensus between the two countries and it is also the bottom line to uphold in relations between states, especially ties between two major countries.”
Qin told Burns that relations between the two countries were of “great significance” but that “a series of erroneous words and actions on the part of the US” has undermined their progress since Chinese President Xi Jinping met US counterpart Joe Biden in Bali last November .
Qin left for Europe on Monday, where he will meet German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock and French counterpart Catherine Colonna, before heading to Norway.
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