Yang Jiechi (1st L), a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, meets with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (1st R) in Rome, Italy, March 14, 2022.(Photo: Xinhua)

China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi held a phone conversation on Wednesday with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan upon request in which he warned the US against playing the "Taiwan card" and vowed that China will take firm actions to safeguard its sovereignty and security interests and the US can count on China to keep its promise.

Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, urged that the two countries should earnestly implement the important consensus reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden on the China-US relations. 

Lately, the two sides have held dialogues in fields including military-to-military exchanges, climate change, health and agriculture, which is positive, and the momentum of dialogue should be maintained, said Yang.

The Taiwan question is the most important, sensitive and core question in China-US relations, Yang stressed, adding that the US side has made it clear on many occasions that it follows the one-China policy and does not support "Taiwan independence."

However, recent US actions and statements on the Taiwan question are quite different, said Yang, noting that if the US side persists in playing the "Taiwan card" and goes further down the wrong path, it will surely put the situation in serious jeopardy.

China urges the US to grasp the situation, strictly honor its commitments and abide by the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three Sino-US joint communiques, said Yang.

China will take firm actions to safeguard its sovereignty and security interests, and the US can count on China to keep its promise, Yang said. 

The US should match its words and deeds, translate its commitments into concrete policies and actions, cooperate with China, properly manage differences between the two sides, and do more constructive things to bring bilateral relations back to the right track of sound and steady development, said Yang.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the situation on the Korean Peninsula and other international and regional issues.

In March, Yang met with Sullivan in Rome when the two sides agreed to jointly implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, increase understanding, manage differences, expand consensus and strengthen cooperation to create the conditions for bringing China-US relations back on the track of sound and steady development.

Global Times