Blinken concerned over China’s ‘provocative actions’ in Taiwan Strait
China called on close US allies Japan and South Korea to focus on “strategic autonomy” rather than rely on the West to support them.
Beijing’s chief diplomat Wang Yi proposed the creation of a regional alliance to help “revitalise Asia” and reclaim full independence from Western influence.
Addressing a crowd of Japanese and South Korean guests at a trilateral forum in Qingdao, the diplomat said: “No matter how blonde you dye your hair, how sharp you shape your nose, you can never become a European or American, you can never become a Westerner.
“We must know where our roots lie.”
He previously said he wanted to “foster a sense of strategic autonomy, maintain regional unity and stability, resist the return of the Cold War mentality and be free of the coercion of bullying and hegemony.”
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Wang called on Japan and South Korea to join forces with China to “prosper together, revitalise East Asia, revitalize Asia and benefit the world”.
Chinese broadcasters reported Wang as saying that “the fate of the region is firmly in our hands”.
Mr Wang’s comments come at a time when Washington has been strengthening its partnership with Tokyo and Seoul in light of increasingly hostile conduct by China.
US President Joe Biden has ramped up efforts to create a united front with Washington’s Asia-Pacific allies to counter Beijing’s growing aggressiveness.
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The trio have repeatedly joined forces to raise awareness about the security risks posed by North Korea and have issued joint statements in a bid to defuse brewing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
But China has reacted with fury at what it perceived as US interference in pan-Asian issues, with Wang taking a dig at the US during his main speech at the trilateral conference on Monday.
He accused “certain major powers outside the region” of “exaggerating ideological differences” to divide regional neighbours and secure geopolitical gains.
Wang added: “If this trend is allowed to develop, it will not only seriously interfere with the smooth progress of trilateral cooperation, but also aggravate tension and confrontation in the region.”
However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will be travelling to China on Thursday as part of the Biden Administration’s efforts to thaw relations with Beijing.
Yellen had previously warned that decoupling from China would be “disastrous” for the US economy and repeatedly expressed the desire to visit.
The Treasury Secretary said the two nations “can and need to find a way to live together” in spite of their strained relations over geopolitics and economic development.
Yellen will meet this week with Chinese officials and US companies doing business in China – and will stay through to July 9, an anonymous official said.
The goal of her visit is to deepen and increase the frequency of communication between the US and China, the official said.
While there are clear areas of common interest where Yellen can make progress, there are also significant disagreements that will not be resolved through a single trip.
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