Won't accept China's pre-conditions to pursue communications, says US official

Washington [US], May 27 (ANI): A senior US State Department official has said that pre-conditions set by Beijing would not be acceptable to pursue communication with the country, reported Voice of America (VOA).

As China's economy squeezes, its quest to emerge as a global superpower is on the back burner. China's unrealistic goals are hurting its economic growth prospects and it has backed off its yearly economic growth target resulting in pummelled consumer spending, manufacturing and trade, reported Khabarhub.

In 2022, China has set its GDP growth target at more than 5 per cent and the claimed achievement has been around 3 per cent.

Concerning China and Ukraine ahead of the Global Chiefs of Mission Conference in mid-June, when US ambassadors will travel to Washington for consultations, the United States Department of State senior official, Derek Chollet told VOA in an interview, that there is little evidence that China is willing to utilise its influence over Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine.

On providing war-hit Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, the US official said that Washington is currently working through the details.

Our Pentagon colleagues are collaborating closely with Ministries of Defence in Europe and worldwide to discuss the future of F-16s. It's got to start with training because these are planes that are not easy to operate, he said, according to VOA.

"We're still working through who is actually going to be providing those planes. We've made no decisions on that for ourselves," the US official added.

US State Department official Derek Chollet on China's peacemaking efforts said that he has modest expectations for the efforts.

Russia and China maintain close ties. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have apparently met in a lot of instances.

"What we would be asking our PRC friends to do is use whatever influence they have over Russia to get Putin to stop this war. I haven't seen much to suggest that they're willing to use that influence. And I haven't seen much to suggest that even if they were willing to use the influence, it would work to change Putin's mind. But that's the simple thing we're asking," Derek Chollet told VOA in an interview on Tuesday this week.

The National Security Advisor of the US, Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi had met and discussed the relationship between the two countries, VOA reported.

In the present times, US' engagement with Taiwan has irked China in a number of ways. China has repeatedly expressed its discontent over the US siding with Taiwan amid Chinese incursions.

The top priority for G7 leaders this time during the Hiroshima Summit was to discuss China, which is increasingly perceived as posing a "strategic challenge" to the region and beyond.

Tensions between China and Taiwan escalated after the then US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi travelled to the island in August last year. China raised objections to Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory. (ANI)