Chinese foreign minister lashes out at Blinken during a phone call

In what comes as an important call betweenChinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his US counterpart, the former has criticized the US saying it should stop trying to contain and suppress China.

“The US side should stop its containment and suppression of China and not create new obstacles to bilateral relations,” read the statement released by Beijing's foreign ministry.

The Chinese minister also took a shot at the US for its recent strategy of curbing the export of semiconductors to China.

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“The US side introduced new export controls against China, restricting investments in China, seriously violating free-trade principles and seriously harming China’s legitimate rights and interests, which must be corrected.”

As reported by WION, the US, earlier this month, tightened export controlsto cut off China from specific chips produced anywhere in the globe using American machinery.

The move extends USA's reach in an effort to halt Beijing's scientific and military advancements.

Read more:China responds angrily after US announces chip export restrictions

Meanwhile, Antony Blinken took to Twitter to inform about the phone call. However, he stopped short of mentioning the criticism levelled by the Chinese side.

“The US side introduced new export controls against China, restricting investments in China, seriously violating free-trade principles and seriously harming China’s legitimate rights and interests, which must be corrected," tweeted Blinken.

In my call with PRC Foreign Minister Wang Yi, we spoke about our efforts to responsibly manage the competition between our two countries, Russia’s war against Ukraine, and support for Haiti. — Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 31, 2022

Notably, this was the first call between the high-ranking officials of the two country post the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Congress that concluded earlier this month.

After the congress, President Xi Jinping secured a third term for himself as the top leader of the country, bringing himself on par with founder Mao Zedong.

Read more:Chen Quanguo, architect of the 'Uyghur genocide', ousted from China’s top leadership body

Reportedly, Wang Yi was also promoted to the 24-member Politburo which makes him China's top-ranked diplomat.

The G20 summit takes place in Bali next month and it will be interesting to observe if Blinken and Wang cross paths during the summit, especially after the rather tense phone call.

(With inputs from agencies)

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