China calls for mutually beneficial cooperation with US

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that he urged visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to favour bilateral cooperation between the two nations instead of conflict.

During a meeting between Wang and Pompeo in Beijing earlier in the day, the former accused the US of escalating the trade conflict with China, reports Efe news.

He claimed that Washington had adopted measures that had violated China's rights and damaged its interests on issues such as Taiwan.

He also accused the US of unduly attacking their internal and external policies.

Wang said these issues had damaged the mutual trust between China and the US, and added that they did not serve the interests of their respective nations.

The Minister urged Pompeo to immediately halt actions that were detrimental to their mutual interests, to avoid conflict and confrontation and instead strengthen bilateral communication and cooperation.

"Such cooperation should be supported by a healthy and stable bilateral relationship," Wang said, adding that he hoped Pompeo's visit to Beijing would play a positive role in this regard.

The two diplomats met on the sidelines of Pompeo's Asia tour, which began in Tokyo and also took him to Pyongyang and Seoul, to prepare for a new summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump following the one held in Singapore in June.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said China hoped the meeting would help renew "mutual trust" between the two countries after "the wrongdoing of the US".

"We believe the wrongdoing of the US on certain issues was not conducive for US-China cooperation, and we hope they will come back onto the right track of working with the Chinese side (towards) healthy relations between the two," Lu said.

--IANS

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