China and the United States must prepare for "important high-level interactions," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday, while warning that the Taiwan issue is the "biggest risk point" for relations and urging to "make the right choice" on the matter, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Details
"The Taiwan issue touches upon China's core interests," Wang told Rubio, adding that the U.S. must "keep its promises and make the right choice to open new opportunities for China-U.S. cooperation and make the necessary efforts for world peace," according to an official summary of the phone call published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The phone call took place several weeks before the expected summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in mid-May, highlighting Taiwan's leading role on Beijing's agenda.
The last face-to-face meeting between Wang and Rubio took place in Munich in February, as trade tensions between the world's two largest economies eased. A fragile truce on tariffs was reached during a meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping in South Korea last October.
"Under the strategic leadership of President Xi Jinping and President Trump, China-U.S. relations have generally remained stable," Wang told Rubio during Thursday's phone call, the first publicly known conversation between the two leaders since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on February 28.
"Both sides should cherish the hard-won stability, carefully prepare for important high-level interactions, expand cooperation, and manage differences," Wang said.
According to the Chinese report, the two men also discussed the situation in the Middle East, but without providing further details.