BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping warned President Donald Trump on Monday that "some negative factors" are hurting U.S.-China relations.
Xi's comments in a phone call with Trump follow Beijing's displeasure over U.S. arms sales to rival Taiwan, U.S. sanctions against a Chinese bank over its dealings with North Korea and, most recently, the sailing of a U.S. destroyer within the territorial seas limit of a Chinese-claimed island in the South China Sea.
Beijing was also miffed after the State Department gave Beijing a dismal grade last week in a new human trafficking report.
According to state media, Xi told Trump in their call that Beijing expects Washington to continue managing relations on the basis of the "one China" principle that rules out formal contacts with Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory.
Xi also said that China-U.S. relations had achieved "important outcomes" since the Florida meeting.
It's unclear whether any of those issues will come up in discussions at the G-20 summit in Germany this week, at which Trump and Xi are expected to hold a bilateral meeting.
China's foreign ministry accused the U.S. of violating Chinese sovereignty and disrupting "peace, security and order of the relevant waters" after the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Stethem sailed Sunday within 12 nautical miles of tiny Triton island, which is claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
China's defense ministry issued a similar statement Monday, saying it would beef up patrols and take precautions commensurate with the threat level to safeguard "national sovereignty and security."
Trump and his top aides have done little to hide their irritation over what they see as the reluctance by China, North Korea's main economic partner, to tighten the screws on Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs.
Until recently, American officials had been describing China as a partner in their strategy to prevent North Korea from developing the ability to strike the U.S. mainland with nuclear weapons. While China has agreed to sanctions, it is wary of measures that could cause the regime's collapse, leaving a united, U.S.-backed Korea on its border.
However, Trump tweeted last month that his bid to secure a tougher Chinese approach "has not worked out."
Along with Xi, Trump also spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom he reaffirmed a shared commitment to dealing with North Korea, the White House said. It said the president also looked forward to meeting Abe at the coming G-20 summit in Hamburg.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.