Washington must respect Beijing’s “red lines” if both nations are to normalize communications, Chinese Foreign Minister has said
China rebukes US over Taiwan
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang address the media during a joint Press conference in the German Foreign ministry on May 9, 2023 in Berlin, Germany © Getty Images / Michele Tantussi/Getty Images
China’s foreign minister Qin Gang has reprimanded the United States’ envoy to Beijing for what he perceived as Washington’s support for Taiwan, while also saying that his country would not agree to bolster communication lines between Washington and Beijing without receiving political concessions from the White House first.
“The US should not talk about communication while continuously suppressing and containing China,” Qin said to Ambassador Nicholas Burns, according to a readout of their meeting released on Monday by China’s Foreign Ministry. “The US must not say one thing but do the opposite.”
Qin added that Washington “must respect China’s bottom lines and red lines, and stop damaging China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests.”
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Tensions have amplified between the US and China in recent months, in part due to both nations’ respective stances regarding Taiwan. Beijing views the island as a breakaway province which remains its sovereign territory – but, while Washington doesn’t maintain official diplomatic ties with Taipei, it has supplied its government with defensive weaponry.
Beijing was also angered by Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen being granted an audience with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during an April visit to California.
The diplomatic spat between Beijing and Washington has led to discussions between the superpowers becoming less frequent. Speaking last month at an online summit hosted by a Washington-based think tank, Burns indicated that the US and China need “deeper channels,” particularly as the militaries of both nations operate closely to one another in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.
Qin stated to Burns during their meeting that establishing stable communications between Beijing and Washington was crucial to mediating potential crises, according to the Chinese foreign ministry readout. But Qin also suggested that the souring relationship was due to the US and to its violations of Beijing’s “red lines.”
https://www.rt.com/news/576020-china-us-taiwan-communications/
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Wednesday the upcoming start of ground strikes against drug cartel targets in Latin America.
He made the remarks during Christmas greetings to the military.
Trump said the United States was "now going after the land" in its fight against drug cartel targets, noting that drug trafficking by sea was down 96 percent.
The U.S. president also extended special congratulations to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, currently deployed in the Caribbean.
BEIJING (Sputnik) - China has begun operating the world's first intelligent ultra-large oil tanker powered by methanol, the China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday.
The tanker, designed to transport crude oil, was successfully put into operation in the city of Dalian in China's northeastern coastal province of Liaoning, the report said. State-owned company Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co Ltd independently designed and built the vessel, it added.
The tanker is approximately 333 meters (1,092 feet) long and can carry around 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the CCTV reported. Designed to produce low emissions and having intelligent control capabilities, the tanker will serve the route to the Middle East, among others, according to the report.
The vessel is powered by a dual-fuel methanol engine, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 92% compared to conventional fuel, the CCTV reported. It is equipped with an intelligent ship platform, an intelligent liquid cargo ...
A car bomb has killed a senior General Staff member, officials have confirmed
Source: The Investigative Committee
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb blast in Moscow, the Investigative Committee has reported.
Officials identified the victim as Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff. According to the statement, an explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle he was traveling in, and detonated on Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital.
The blast also damaged several other vehicles and seriously injured Sarvarov’s driver, media reports stated.
Russian officials said one line of investigation is an assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services, noting that Kiev has previously used explosive devices in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
Last December, a bomb hidden in an e-scooter killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense ...
