China feels US taking steps to better relations: Report

New York, Dec 24 : China feels that the US has been taking positive steps towards bettering relations starting with the meeting between President Joe Biden and his counterpart Xi Jingping in November last month at San Francisco, but is just "one mis-step away from sparking a war", a report said.

China, by mis-step, was referring to surveillance of its activities in sea adjoining Taiwan and aiding that country despite its warnings.

"But behind the high expectations are peoples concerns about the possibility of a minor incident that could spark a war or even an uncontrollable risk between China and the US, the two great powers," Chinas leading newspaper, the Global Times said in an editorial.

Examining a video meeting between top military officials General Liu Zhenli of China and General Charles Q.Brown, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Global Times said this is a "positive signal".

It touted the meeting as "one of the important outcomes of the San Francisco meeting between the Chinese and US heads of state", and wrote that the meeting was "substantive".

The editorial, titled "Chinese, US military talks a positive signal" does not necessarily reflect the views of the Chinese leadership although it is controlled by the polit bureau of the Chinese communist party.

The warning of the mis-step by the US with China leading to a war between the two countries comes more than a month after President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November.

The face-to-face meeting was the first between the two superpowers in a year and occurred during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

The meeting was seen as a crucial step in restoring normal communications between the US and China and to prevent the rivalry between the two countries from escalating, Newsweek that analysed the Global Times report said.

However, the Global Times report warned on Saturday that a minor incident could spark war between the two nations though the US was taking a significant step in bettering the relationships between the two military powers.

The two military superpowers stopped all talks or negotiations when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in July 2022.

Tensions heightened as the US conducted frequent transits of the sensitive waters in the Taiwan Strait with American and allied aircraft and vessels.

"As the US military increases its close-in reconnaissance of Chinas south-eastern coast and interference in the Taiwan Straits situation, the risk of direct military friction between China and the US has raised significantly, and Washington feels uneasy about this kind of development," the Global Times wrote.

Liu still attended the meeting at the behest of Browns invitation.

"But what is the fundamental purpose of military exchanges between the two countries? There is a difference in the two sides perceptions, which requires Washington in particular to have a full understanding of the key points emphasized by Beijing during the exchanges."

Newsweek reached out to the US Central Command and the White House by email for comment.

Newsweek also reached out to the US Department of State through an online media inquiry for comment.The response was awaited.

The editorial also said that the US has "never given enough respect" to Chinas "core interests and major concerns", adding that those actions are the "root cause of the danger".

"If Washington does not recognise this issue, then the risk of military confrontation between China and the US will always exist," the Global Times wrote, before declaring that the US must change its behaviour if it hopes to improve its relationship with China.

It is not the first time the Global Times has issued such warnings against the US.

In October, it claimed that America is "inciting the risk of war on a global scale".

And earlier this year, the Global Times slammed the US for its $80 million military financing programme for Taiwan, the Newsweek noted.

ash/pgh