China says US talks vital as Trump targets Beijing’s key partners

BEIJING: US-China dialogue is vital to preventing globally damaging miscalculations, China’s top diplomat said on Saturday, ahead of a highly anticipated summit this month between leaders Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.

“Failure to engage between the two nations would only lead to misunderstandings and misjudgements, escalating toward confrontation and harming the world,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a press conference on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting in Beijing.

With the US president focused on the war he and Israel launched against Iran, analysts are watching for signs that his visit to meet Xi will go ahead. China has not previously announced the summit, expected for the end of the month.

“The agenda for high-level exchanges (with the US) is on the table,” Wang said.

“What is required is for both sides to make thorough preparations to create a conducive environment to manage existing differences,” he added, without giving further details.

In addition to the week-old Iran war, which has killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and more than 1,300 others in the country, according to Tehran, Trump authorised the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January, testing Beijing’s commitment to its strategic partners.

Wang appeared to take a swipe at Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” - his rebranding of a 19th-century policy asserting Washington’s zone of influence in the Americas. It poses a stern test of Xi’s flagship “Belt and Road” infrastructure and global security initiatives.

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“If China, like some traditional major powers, was keen on carving out spheres of influence in its neighbourhood, stoking bloc confrontation, or even shifting problems onto its neighbours, would Asia still be as stable as it is today” Wang said.

He did not name the US Trump has also threatened military action against Colombia and Mexico and said Cuba’s communist regime “looks like it’s ready to fall” on its own, raising questions for Latin American countries over how their China ties might protect them if put to the test.