After talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken issued a serious threat to China over its support for Russia in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Blinken made this statement during a visit to Beijing.
"The US is ready to take new measures and impose sanctions against China against the background of the situation in Ukraine," the US Secretary of State said in Beijing.
He added that "if Beijing does not take measures to solve this problem (supporting the Russian Federation), Washington will."
Xi Jinping urged the US to take a positive attitude towards China's development.
"We hope that the US will be able to look at China's development in a positive light. This is a fundamental issue that needs to be resolved, like the first button on a shirt that needs to be fixed, so that China-US relations can truly stabilize, improve and move forward," the Chinese leader said.
Blinken assured that the US "does not seek to restrain China's development and oppose it with the help of alliances."
The United States also adheres to the "one China" principle. That is, they do not consider Taiwan an independent independent state.
Beijing has expressed displeasure at US attempts to block China's access to advanced semiconductors that would allow it to make advances in artificial intelligence that could have military applications.
The parties agreed to hold the first bilateral talks on artificial intelligence in the coming weeks.
