China: "Big Question Mark on Jungmi Relations... The US Must Make the Right Choice"

After Sherman’s China Visit, U.S. Accountability Raised

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The Chinese government has repeatedly voiced that the responsibility for improving the deteriorated US-China relations lies with the United States.

Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular briefing on the 27th, "Wendy Sherman, US Deputy Secretary of State, who visited Tianjin on the 25th, stayed for 24 hours and met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for 6 hours and held talks with Deputy Minister Xie Feng," adding, "They enhanced mutual understanding."

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously stated that the talks between Deputy Secretary Sherman and Deputy Minister Xie Feng lasted over 4 hours. The meeting between Deputy Secretary Sherman and Minister Wang Yi is believed to have lasted about an hour.

Spokesperson Zhao said that whether future US-China relations will head toward conflict and confrontation or improvement and development is a "big question mark." He added, "China has clearly stated this time that the US must think carefully and make the right choice," emphasizing, "We oppose the Biden administration continuing the wrong policies of the previous Trump administration and intensifying pressure on China."

He expressed hope for a change in US policy, citing the proverb "The person who tied the bell must take it off," which has a similar meaning to 'gyeoljahaeji' (resolving one's own problem). This was a demand that the US, which worsened US-China relations, should take measures to improve the relationship.

The two countries engaged in fierce exchanges during the high-level talks held for the first time in four months the previous day. China launched an offensive by presenting two lists for the first time: one containing the improvements it demands from the US and the other outlining its key concerns. Deputy Secretary Sherman expressed concerns about a series of Chinese actions undermining the rules-based international order and raised human rights issues considered China's Achilles' heel, such as the suppression of democracy in Hong Kong and the mass atrocities in Xinjiang.