According to China's state television (CCTV), at a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Wang Yi said that Mr. Blinken's two-day visit to Beijing comes at a "critical moment" in US-China relations and "a choice must be made between dialogue and confrontation, cooperation and conflict."

“The China-US relationship has experienced ups and downs, and the US needs to work with China to jointly manage differences and avoid strategic surprises,” Wang Yi said.

“With a sense of responsibility to the people, history and the world, we must reverse the downward spiral of China-US relations and move towards healthy and stable relations. The two sides should work together to find the right path for China and the US to get along in the new era,” Wang added.

Mr. Wang also called on the US not to assume that China is seeking dominance, stressing that the worsening relationship between the two countries is due to Washington's "misperception" of China.

At the meeting, Mr. Wang Yi called on the US to lift unilateral sanctions against China, stop suppressing China's technological development and not interfere in its internal affairs.

According to Mr. Wang Yi, protecting national unity will always be China's core, saying that " there is no room for compromise" on the Taiwan issue.

Secretary Blinken's meeting with Wang Yi came a day after he held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who the two held for seven and a half hours of "candid" and "constructive" talks on June 18.

All eyes will be on whether Secretary of State Blinken will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the day.

US-China relations have deteriorated across the board. Mr Blinken’s visit is being closely watched by the rest of the world as any escalation between the superpowers could have global repercussions.

Kong Anh (Source: SCMP)