Xi tells Blinken US, China must be 'partners, not rivals

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday told top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken that the world's biggest economies should be "partners, not rivals" as the two sides pressed for headway on a range of concerns.

Blinken, in China for the second time in less than a year, pointed to improvements in the relationship but urged greater action from Beijing on areas including curbing support for Russia.

Meeting Blinken in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Xi said the two countries had "made some positive progress" since he met with U.S. President Joe Biden in November.

"The two countries should be partners, not rivals," Xi said.

But he issued a warning over what China considers U.S. pressure to curb its economy, which have included a sweeping ban on semiconductor exports and efforts to wrest blockbuster app TikTok from its Chinese owners.

"We hope the U.S. can also take a positive view of China's development," Xi said.

"When this fundamental problem is solved," he said, "relations can truly stabilise, get better and move forward".

Earlier China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned Blinken that U.S. pressure could trigger a "downward spiral".

Wang also warned that the question of self-ruled Taiwan was the "first red line" that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations.

 Pressure on Russia 

Blinken described his talks with Wang at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse — which lasted more than five and a half hours — "extensive and constructive".

He announced that the two countries will in the coming weeks hold their first formal talks on managing artificial intelligence, a rising area of concern as the technology progresses rapidly.

But Blinken sounded a warning on China's support for...