The Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., is denying reports that Beijing wants a high-level meeting with U.S. officials in hopes of easing tensions that have grown between the two countries over the past four years.
“This report is not true to facts. The Chinese side never wrote such letters,” the Chinese embassy said in a statement Saturday," reports The Hill. “We hope the media concerned respect the facts and report on Sino-U.S. relations in an objective and responsible manner."
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Beijing had wanted to send Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo, which is the Communist Party's top decision-making organization, to Washington to meet with President Joe Biden's senior aides.
The proposal was made by Ambassador Cui Tiankai to U..S. officials in December soon after President Xi Jinping congratulated Biden on winning the election, the report said.
The embassy said in its statement, however, that the United States and China should "meet each other halfway" on its numerous disagreements.
Under the Trump administration, tensions grew over trade, Beijing's military maneuvers in the South China Sea, and most recently with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's declaration that the country was committing genocide and human rights violations in its dealings with Uighur Muslims and other religious groups.
This past week, China imposed sanctions against "lying and cheating" Pompeo and 27 other top officials under former President Donald Trump.
Antony Blinken, Biden's choice to succeed Pompeo, said he agrees with him on China.
Biden, though, says he will try to get along more with China, but he has no plans to immediately remove tariffs that Trump imposed.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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