Nectar Gan and Mengchen Zhang
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Hong Kong (CNN)\u00a0\u2014\u00a0China\u2019s foreign minister said Monday a \u201cseries of erroneous words and deeds\u201d by the United States had placed relations between the two superpowers on \u201ccold ice,\u201d but stabilizing ties is a \u201ctop priority.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qin Gang made the comments during a meeting in Beijing with US ambassador Nicholas Burns, their first since a dispute over a Chinese balloon<\/a> shattered efforts to mend ties earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qin said US actions and words had undermined \u201chard-won positive momentum\u201d following Chinese leader Xi Jinping\u2019s meeting with US President Joe Biden in Indonesia last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe agenda of dialogue and cooperation agreed by the two sides has been disrupted, and the relationship between the two countries has once again hit the cold ice,\u201d he said according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a brief post on Twitter, Burns said he and Qin discussed \u201cchallenges in the US-China relationship and the necessity of stabilizing ties and expanding high-level communication.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tensions between the world\u2019s two biggest economies soared in February after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over the continental US and was subsequently shot down by the American military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The incident prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a planned trip to Beijing<\/a> \u2013 a visit seen as an important step in repairing fraught diplomatic ties that are at their worst in decades. There has been no indication whether the trip will be rescheduled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe top priority now is to stabilize Sino-US relations, avoid a downward spiral and prevent any accidents between China and the US,\u201d Qin told Burns, according to the Chinese readout. \u201cThis should be the most fundamental consensus between China and the US.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qin urged the US to \u201creflect deeply\u201d and \u201cmeet China halfway\u201d to push bilateral relations out of their current predicament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c(The US) can\u2019t talk about communication on the one hand, but keep suppressing and containing China on the other hand,\u201d he said, adding that Washington must respect China\u2019s bottom lines and stop undermining its sovereignty, security and development interests \u2013 in particular on the issue of Taiwan<\/a>, a self-governing democracy Beijing claims as its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reiterating Beijing\u2019s talking points, Qin urged the US to stop the hollowing out of the \u201cone China\u201d principle and end support for \u201cTaiwan independent\u201d forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under Washington\u2019s longstanding \u201cone China\u201d policy, the US acknowledges Beijing\u2019s position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially recognized the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s claim to the democratic island of more than 23 million. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is also bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under Xi, China has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, increasing fears he may one day make an attempt to follow through on his goal of \u201creunifying\u201d the island with the mainland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday\u2019s meeting was Qin\u2019s first with Burns since the former Chinese ambassador to the US was promoted to foreign minister in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2018Better channels\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n