Chinese Defense Minister Says Washington Must Respect Beijing's Core Interests

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2022) China attaches great importance to the development of relations with the United States, but Washington must respect Beijing's core interests, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said on Tuesday.

Wei held a meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cambodia.

"China attaches great importance to the development of relations between the two countries and the armed forces of the two states, but the US must respect the most vital interests of China," Wei said at a meeting, emphasizing that "the responsibility for the current situation in Chinese-US relations lies with the US, not China."

The parties also discussed issues concerning the situation in the Taiwan Strait, and Wei reiterated that Beijing continued to consider Taiwan as a part of China.

"The Taiwan issue is the most important of China's fundamental interests and the first red line in Chinese-US relations that must not be crossed," the Chinese minister said, adding that this issue involves only Chinese people and "no outside power has the right to interfere.

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The China-US relations, strained since the 2019 race of tariffs, have gone a new phase of escalation in recent months due to visits by US lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan despite Beijing's objections. The disagreement resulted in increased Chinese military activity around the island, in additional to diplomatic tensions.

Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan � a territory with its own elected government � maintains that it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.