Xi Jinping's Minister Tells Blinken US Should Stop Trying To Suppress China

The Chinese foreign minister told his American counterpart that the U.S. should stop trying to contain China and avoid creating obstacles between the two countries.  

What Happened: Xi Jinping's cabinet minister  Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call on Monday to discuss the relationship between the two countries.

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"Wang Yi pointed out that bringing China-US relations back on track with stable development is not only in the common interests of China and the U.S. but also the general expectation of the international community. The U.S. side should stop its efforts to contain and suppress China and not create new obstacles to the relationship between the two countries," according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.

Wang told Blinken the export controls that Washington imposed on Beijing severely damaged its legitimate rights and must be rectified, it added.

The foreign ministers discussed Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine and the threats it poses to global security and economic stability, the U.S. State Department said in a statement. 

Blinken and Wang also discussed the need to manage U.S.-China relations responsibly, the department added.

The call lasted about 70 minutes and was productive and professional, according to State Department Spokesperson Ned Price.

"Any notion that our policy is directed against China or any other country around the world is not true. It is true, of course, that we have profound disagreements with the PRC (People's Republic of China) in a number of areas," Price said.

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