Chinese state media has warned that the United States must better cooperate with China to avoid "disastrous" conflict.
China Daily, produced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the largest English-language publication in the East Asian country. In an editorial published on Thursday, the outlet said there has been "growing concern around the world" of possible conflict between China and the U.S., adding that Foreign Minister Wang Yi's remarks at a Thursday news conference in Beijing "are being parsed for clues as to whether such a disastrous scenario can be avoided."
A major source of rising tension between the U.S. and China has been the independence of Taiwan. China claims that Taiwan, which separated from the mainland following a civil war in 1949, is Chinese territory. Taiwan has its own government and functions as a sovereign nation.
The U.S. considers Taiwan a key partner in the Indo-Pacific region and President Joe Biden has said that U.S. forces would defend Taiwan if China tried to invade.
China Daily warned "the elephant in the room that will always shake the foundations of any attempts to build better relations, is the Taiwan question.
"Any attempts to exploit the Taiwan question, which is an internal affair of China, will always call into question the US' sincerity and its commitment to mending relations."
Throughout the editorial, China Daily blamed the U.S. for its estranged relationship with China.
"In a bid to prevent that apocalyptic scenario from happening, [Wang] said that China always strives to maintain continuity in its policy toward the US, adhering to the principles of mutual respect and win-win cooperation.
"Unfortunately, the same cannot be said by Washington [, D.C.], which, as Wang pointed out, has not only failed to fulfill all commitments it has made to Beijing, but also continually says one thing while doing another."
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Department of State via online form and the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment on Thursday.
The China Daily editorial did say, however, that "it takes two to improve bilateral relations" and mentioned Biden's November meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco, California.
Following the meeting, the White House said in a press release that Biden "reiterated that the world expects the United States and China to manage competition responsibly to prevent it from veering into conflict, confrontation, or a new Cold War."
The two leaders "stressed the importance of responsibly managing competitive aspects of the relationship, preventing conflict, maintaining open lines of communication, cooperating on areas of shared interest, upholding the UN Charter, and all countries treating each other with respect and finding a way to live alongside each other peacefully," according to the release.
China Daily, though, warned that "the US should align its actions with the San Francisco vision of the way forward for bilateral relations," adding, "There are quite a few areas where the two sides can find firm common ground on which to rebuild trust and mutual respect."
When reached for comment by Newsweek, the Chinese embassy referred to Wang's comments at the news conference.
"There has been some improvement in China-U.S. relations since the summit in San Francisco," Wang said. "This meets the interests and wishes of people of both countries and the world. But it has to be pointed out that U.S. misperception toward China continues and U.S. promises are not truly fulfilled. The U.S. has been devising various tactics to suppress China and kept lengthening its unilateral sanctions list, reaching bewildering levels of unfathomable absurdity.
"We urge the U.S. to be clear-eyed about the trend of the times, view China's development objectively and rationally, engage in exchanges with China proactively and pragmatically, and act to fulfill its commitments. We hope that it will work with China to bring the relationship back on the track of stable, sound and sustainable development."
The U.S. expanded sanctions on Chinese companies and individuals, in late February for allegedly aiding Russia during its war with Ukraine.
The U.S. Department of State said on its website that America will address its relationship with China "from a position of strength."
"We will advance our economic interests, counter Beijing's aggressive and coercive actions, sustain key military advantages and vital security partnerships, re-engage robustly in the UN system, and stand up to Beijing when PRC [People's Republic of China] authorities are violating human rights and fundamental freedoms," the State Department said.
Update 3/8/24, 9:32 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.