China rebukes US in phone call ahead of Blinken's Beijing trip

China's foreign minister Qin Gang urged the United States to stop meddling in its affairs and harming its security in a phone call with his US counterpart on Wednesday, a tense preview to Antony Blinken's visit to Beijing expected in coming days.

Qin told Blinken to respect China's core concerns, such as the Taiwan issue, in an effort to arrest declining relations between the superpowers, according to China's foreign ministry.

Blinken stressed the need for communication "to avoid miscalculation and conflict" and said the US would continue to raise areas of concern as well as potential cooperation with China, the State Department said in a brief summary of the call.


The top US diplomat is scheduled to travel to China and Britain between June 16 and June 21, the State Department said on Wednesday, after a US official last week said Blinken would be in Beijing on June 18. Chinese state media said he was due to visit China on June 18-19.