Chinese Foreign Minister Scolds U.S. Envoy Over Taiwan
In Beijing meeting, Qin Gang held up respect for so-called red lines as price for better communications with Washington
BEIJING—China’s foreign minister rebuked the American ambassador in Beijing for what he said was Washington’s support of Taiwan and indicated that his side wanted concessions from the U.S. in return for improved lines of communication sought by the White House.
In a readout of their meeting on Monday from China’s Foreign Ministry, Qin Gang described the U.S. as hypocritical for trying to bolster communication channels between the countries on one hand, while simultaneously brushing up against what China sees as its Taiwan red lines.
“We cannot focus on communication while China is constantly being suppressed and contained,” Mr. Qin told Ambassador Nicholas Burns. “You cannot say one thing and do another.”
Rising hostilities between the U.S. and China have choked off communications between the two countries’ leaders. While both sides have said they don’t seek conflict with one another, so far they have struggled to agree on a path forward to improve ties.
As the U.S. and Chinese militaries operate in proximity to one another in the South China Sea and in waters around Taiwan, a lack of reliable channels to communicate in the event of an accident or crisis has emerged as a top concern for American officials involved in the relationship.
“Our view is we need better channels between the two governments and deeper channels, and we are ready to talk,” Mr. Burns said at a think tank event this month, according to a transcript.
China has resisted U.S. efforts to establish better hotlines for managing crises, The Wall Street Journal reported last week. Chinese officials see hotlines as a way to give the U.S. military cover to continue what they view as provocative operations in China’s backyard.
In some ways, the fact that the meeting between the foreign minister and the U.S. ambassador took place at all can be viewed as a sign of progress given such limited communication between the countries recently. While Mr. Burns has met Mr. Qin previously, this was their first meeting since Mr. Qin became China’s foreign minister. In the Chinese readout, Mr. Qin said stabilizing U.S.-China ties was an urgent task to prevent accidents between the countries, without elaborating.
Mr. Burns in a tweet confirmed meeting with Mr. Qin and said they discussed “the necessity of stabilizing ties and expanding high-level communication.”
Mr. Qin, who was promoted to become foreign minister in December after serving as China’s ambassador to Washington, blamed the U.S. for turbulent relations. That is in line with recent rhetoric from other Chinese officials who have also been highly critical of the U.S. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has personally complained that the U.S. seeks to contain China.
“A series of erroneous words and actions by the U.S. have undermined the hard-won positive momentum of U.S.-China relations,” Mr. Qin said. “I hope that the U.S. side will deeply reflect and will work with China to steer U.S.-China relations out of difficulties and put them back on the right track.”
The issue of Taiwan is the most sensitive matter between the U.S. and China. Beijing says the democratically self-governing island is Chinese territory. While the U.S. doesn’t maintain official ties with the government of Taiwan, it has long provided Taipei with weapons to defend itself from an attack by China. Recent high-profile support for Taiwan by American politicians has led China to question U.S. intentions about the island. Beijing has never ruled out taking the island by force.
Most recently, a meeting in California between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen angered China. It launched live-fire military exercises near the island in response.
“The U.S. must respect China’s bottom lines and red lines, stop harming China’s sovereignty, security and development interests” Mr. Qin said.
The diplomatic troubles have also included the American downing of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that drifted over the U.S. in February. The incident led Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a planned visit to Beijing that had sought to help stabilize ties.
As U.S.-China relations have soured, Mr. Xi has launched a diplomatic push elsewhere as the country emerges from three years of pandemic-induced isolation.
World leaders who have met Mr. Xi recently include French President Emmanuel Macron, who made a state visit to China in April. Some U.S. and European officials are now looking at whether Beijing can also play a role in pushing for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Next week, the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will all visit China as part of a Central Asia summit that seeks to shore up China’s ties to the region. Separately on Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry said Mr. Qin would travel to Europe this week for meetings with his counterparts in Germany, France and Norway.
Write to Brian Spegele at Brian.Spegele@wsj.com