UPDATE 3 - Dignified like Americans: China's Xi calls for mutual respect in meeting with US' Blinken

UPDATES WITH MORE COMMENTS BY CHINESE PRESIDENT XI, CHANGES HEAD, DECK, LEDE

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Necva Tastan

ISTANBUL (AA) - China, like the US is a dignified, confident, and self-reliant nation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday after receiving US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing, calling for mutual respect between the two countries.

"The Chinese, like the Americans, are dignified, confident and self-reliant people. They both have the right to pursue a better life," Xi asserted during his discussions with Bliken, according to a statement from China's Foreign Ministry.

He underlined that Beijing had "made its position clear, and the two sides have agreed to follow through the common understandings President Biden and I had reached in Bali. The two sides also made progress and reached agreement on some specific issues."

Hoping that Blinken "could make positive contribution to stabilizing China-US relations," Xi called on the US to "adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude, and work with China in the same direction."

According to the Chinese president, neither Beijing nor Washington "should try to shape the other side by its own will, still less deprive the other side of its legitimate right to development."

However, Xi added the US and China need to "translate the positive statements into actions so as to stabilize and improve China-US relations."

Claiming that Beijing "always hopes to see a sound and steady China-US relationship, Xi said he "believes" the two countries could "overcome various difficulties and find the right way to get along based on mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation."

Urging respect for China's "legitimate rights and interests," Xi said China "does not seek to challenge or displace the United States."

He said the world "needs a generally stable China-US relationship."

In an earlier tweet, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Xi had told Blinken during the meeting that state-to-state interactions "should always be based on mutual respect and sincerity."

On his second day of high-level diplomatic contacts in Beijing, Blinken was received by Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, in the highest-level contact between the world's top two economies since Xi met his American counterpart Joe Biden last November in Indonesia.

Xi said China's Foreign Affairs Chief Wang Yi and State Councilor Qin Gang described their talks with Secretary Blinken as candid and in-depth.

- 'US committed to Bali consensus'

According to Hua, Blinken told Xi that the US was "committed to returning to the agenda set by the two presidents in Bali."

"The US stands by the commitments made by President Biden, namely the US does not seek a new Cold War, it does not seek to change China’s system, its alliances are not directed at China, it does not support 'Taiwan independence', and it does not seek conflict with China," said Blinken.

He also added that Washington looks forward to having high-level engagement with the Chinese side, keeping open lines of communication, "responsibly managing differences, and pursuing dialogue, exchanges and cooperation," she said.

- Cause of tensions US' 'erroneous understanding of China'

After more than seven hours of official and unofficial discussions with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang on Sunday, Blinken met China's foreign affairs chief Wang Yi early on Monday.

Wang told Blinken that China-US bilateral relations were at a "critical juncture" and that "it is necessary to make a choice between dialogue or confrontation, cooperation or conflict," said a readout from Beijing.

He added that the "root cause of the current downturn in China-US relations lies in the US side's erroneous understanding of China." The meeting lasted for around three hours.

A day before, Qin had said ties were at their "lowest" point since Beijing and Washington established diplomatic relations.

Wang placed the responsibility on Washington to normalize relations.

"For China-US relations to be stable and long-term, the most important thing is to follow the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation (as) proposed by President Xi Jinping," said Wang.

On the matter of Taiwan, a focal point of rising tensions between the US and China, which views the island as a "breakaway province," Wang told Blinken there was "no room for compromise," urging the US to "adhere to the one-China principle."

Wang was seen waiting to greet Blinken inside the building where they would meet, standing against the Chinese and US national flags. Without speaking, they walked inside the closed room for talks.

The sides described the Sunday meeting as "positive," "candid," and "constructive."

Andrew Leung, a Hong Kong-based China analyst, told Anadolu that the talks held Sunday were "no game changer" but "were prudent for both sides to build guard rails and hotlines."

While China recently declined a meeting of defense chiefs requested by the US, Beijing hosted American businessmen before Blinken flew to China, the first time any US Secretary of State had visited the world's second-largest economy since 2018.

Tesla carmaker Elon Musk was hosted by Qin while, American billionaire Bill Gates was granted an audience by Xi, who described him as an "old friend" and "first American" he received in Beijing this year.

During the Qin-Blinken talks, the two sides had broadly agreed to at least five issues, including compliance with the consensus reached by the two heads of state in Bali last November.

They also agreed to continue senior-level visits, with Blinken extending an invitation to Qin to visit the US.