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Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Antony Blinken (in Bali): "The People's Republic of China is still with Russia"
Photo: Stefani Reynolds/AP
The mood between the USA and China remains tense even when their foreign ministers meet face-to-face on the fringes of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting.
US Representative Antony Blinken has again urged China to condemn Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
After meeting his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Bali, Blinken said China claims to be neutral in the conflict.
In fact, Beijing supports Moscow.
"The People's Republic of China still stands by Russia."
Blinken criticized China for repeating Russian propaganda, shielding Moscow in international organizations and taking part in joint maneuvers.
He conveyed to Wang Yi that "this is truly a moment when we all need to stand up, as one G20 country after another has done, to condemn the aggression."
Wang Yi demands respect for China's political system
Wang Yi struck a critical tone at the meeting with Blinken, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Both countries are facing more and more challenges, the Chinese foreign minister said.
Wang Yi called on the US to respect China's political system and abandon a Cold War mentality.
Washington should not interfere in internal affairs such as the Taiwan issue or Hong Kong, it said.
The USA should also withdraw the punitive tariffs that the previous government around Donald Trump had imposed on China.
On the subject of the Ukraine crisis, the Chinese side only said that there had been a "deep exchange of views".
The G20 is a group of leading and emerging economic powers.
In addition to democratic industrial nations such as Germany and the USA, it also includes authoritarian countries such as Russia, China and Saudi Arabia.
Indonesia currently holds the presidency.
In November, the heads of state and government of the G20 meet in Bali for their summit.
muk/dpa
