US President Donald Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping .
China’s ambassador to the US has outlined four “red lines” that Beijing expects Washington not to cross ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day state visit to the US, as President Donald Trump prepares to host him amid tensions over Taiwan, human rights and China’s political system.
Chinese ambassador Xie Feng highlighted Taiwan, democracy and human rights, China’s development path and political system, and its development rights as issues that cannot be challenged, according to the New York Post. In an op-ed published in the Communist Party-run People’s Daily, Xie said China’s “sovereignty, security, and development interests cannot be violated”. He said competition between the two countries, including in artificial intelligence, should remain healthy rather than become a zero-sum contest. The ambassador also referred to the “constructive and strategically stable” relationship that Trump and Xi agreed to pursue during their May summit in Beijing, saying the two sides should now turn that language into reality.
Xie also called on the US to stop using issues such as national security, economic imbalances and forced labour as reasons to constrain China.
Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Roger Wicker said he would have advised Trump against extending such a “lavish welcome” to Xi, citing disagreements between Washington and Beijing. Trump is expected to personally receive Xi at Joint Base Andrews, in a rare gesture for a visiting foreign leader. The White House is also scheduled to host a state dinner for the Chinese president, with a military flyover planned during his visit. The planned welcome has drawn criticism from some US lawmakers.