Don’t go too far, Chinese Foreign Minister tells Pompeo

Beijing, May 19 (IANS) China's State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged Washington "not to go too far" in its measures that threatened Chinese interests in a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In the phone call on Saturday, Wang expressed his strong opposition to the executive order signed by US President Donald Trump last week that prohibits the use of technological equipment by firms allegedly trying to spy on Washington, which could restrict business with companies such as Huawei.

"We urge the US side not to go too far," Wang told Pompeo, adding that the US should change its course as soon as possible so as to avoid further damage of bilateral ties.

The Chinese Minister said that Beijing "was still willing to resolve economic and trade differences through negotiations, but that they should be on an equal footing", Xinhua news agency reported.

He added that in any negotiations, China must safeguard its legitimate interests, respond to the calls of its people and defend the basic norms of international relations.

The Minister stressed that China stated its firm opposition to "the US negative words and acts related to Taiwan" and urged Washington to "abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques and handle Taiwan-related issues carefully and properly", the report said.

The call came after Beijing and Washington locked horns again last week owing to Trump's action to thwart "foreign adversaries who are actively and increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology infrastructure and services in the US", according to the White House.

However, the White House made no direct reference to China, with whom the US is engaged in a bitter trade dispute.

While both Beijing and Washington say that negotiations to resolve the trade dispute have not yet collapsed after over 10 rounds of talks, it seems unlikely that the deadlock will break in the short term after the mutual imposition of tariffs and trading of accusations by both countries.

Wang and Pompeo also spoke about the latest developments over the Iran issue. The Chinese top Minister said that China was committed to the denuclearization, peace and security of the Middle East.

"We hope that all parties will exercise restraint and act with caution, so as to avoid escalating tensions," Wang said.