China asks the United States to avoid claimed islands in the South China Sea

Washington : China has plainly told the United States to stop sending ships and military aircraft near the islands claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea, during discussions Saturday opened the table for a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping later this month.

The United States responded by insisting that they would continue to "fly, sail and operate where international law permits." In late September, US and Chinese ships nearly collided near a disputed reef.

Despite the open denunciation of differences at the Washington meeting of the highest diplomats and military leaders of both countries, both parties stressed the need to calm tensions, Trump and Xi should tackle at the summit of the Group 20 in Argentina.
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"The United States is not pursuing a Cold War containment policy with China," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters after the diplomatic and security talks between China and China. "Instead, we want to ensure that China acts responsibly and equitably for the security and prosperity of each of our two countries."
The talks were to be held in Beijing last month but were postponed after Washington 's announcement of new arms sales to Taiwan, and after a Chinese destroyer approached the company. USS Decatur at the end of September in what the US Navy called "unsafe and unprofessional maneuver." Beijing has general but controversial sovereignty claims in the region.

"The Chinese side has made it clear to the United States that it must stop sending its ships and military planes near the Chinese islands and reefs and put an end to actions that undermine Chinese authority and security. Yang Jiechi, Pompeo's Chinese counterpart, also commented on US support for Taiwan.

However, Yang and the Chinese Defense Minister, Wei Fenghe, stressed the need to improve cooperation, including between US and Chinese armed forces, to mitigate the risk of conflict when the two powers vie for pre-eminence in Asia-Pacific.

"Cooperation is the only option for us," said Wei. "Confrontation and Conflict between the two armies will be a disaster for us all. "Defense Secretary Jim Mattis affirmed the US right to freedom of navigation but also said that The parties should work together in areas of common interest. "Competition does not mean hostility, nor should it lead to conflict," said Mattis.

Although the rescheduling of the dialogue was a sign of effort on the part of both parties to contain the slide in the relationship, Commerce. Trump has imposed tariffs of US $ 250 billion on Chinese products, with the aim of reducing the US trade deficit and defeating what the United States regards as a Chinese predatory tactic vis-à-vis -vis the high-tech sector. Beijing fought back with US duty on US goods valued at US $ 110 million.

Yun Sun, a Chinese expert from the Stimson Center think tank, said Beijing did not know exactly what Trump wanted to get from a trade deal, Midway through the elections, US President Mercurial could be more inclined to reach a compromise. "Their top priority is to stabilize relations," she said.

With regard to human rights, Pompeo expressed concern about China's treatment of religious minorities, including the mbad detention of minority Uyghur Muslims. But overall, the tone of US officials' public comment was milder than that of the Chinese. Yang insisted that the Chinese have freedom of religion and that "foreign countries do not have the right to interfere".