China’s Foreign Minister calls for “non-interference” between China and the US.

BEIJING – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday that the US must lift “unreasonable restrictions” to advance the relationship of the two countries under President Joe Biden’s administration.

Wang’s comments come as tensions between the US and China have escalated in recent years under former President Donald Trump, whose term ended in January. So far, the Biden administration has maintained a difficult position in China – calling the country a more assertive “competitor” – and has expressed concern about Beijing’s stance on Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.

China’s central government views these issues as part of its internal affairs.

“Speaking of relations between China and the US, I believe that both sides should first of all adhere to the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal affairs,” Wang said. This is evident from an official English translation of his comments into Mandarin at a press conference held alongside Beijing’s annual “Two Sessions” parliamentary meeting, the country’s biggest political event of the year.

According to the White House, Biden had expressed “fundamental concern” about Beijing’s actions in things like Hong Kong in a two-hour telephone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping in February ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday. At the time, the two leaders also discussed how to counter the coronavirus pandemic by working together on climate change and preventing the proliferation of weapons.

Wang said on Sunday that the two countries could also work together on the economic recovery from the pandemic, pointing to the call as a positive basis for rebuilding the bilateral relationship.

“We are ready to work with the United States to continue the outcome of this important phone call and set China-US relations on a new path of healthy and steady growth,” he said.