China's foreign minister urged the United States on Monday to reconsider its decision to upgrade Tawian's F-16 jet fighter fleet, saying it could harm the "trust and confidence" between Washington and Beijing, a senior State Department official said. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi delivered the warning to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a meeting in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the official said.
"(China's foreign minister) was making very serious representations to Secretary Clinton, asked the Obama administration to reconsider its decision and indicated that it would harm the trust and confidence that was established between the two sides," the senior official said.
The senior US official said that China had indicated that some military-to-military activities with the United States would be cancelled or postponed because of the arms deal. China last week stepped up its condemnation of the United States for selling arms to Taiwan saying they could disrupt military exchanges, a warning that is likely to unsettle, but not derail, ties with Washington.
Arms sales are one of several irritants in the Sino-US relationship which include Washington's decision to challenge Chinese duties on US poultry products and US pressure on China to loosen controls on its currency. China's Foreign Ministry has already lambasted the Obama administration for telling Congress that it plans a $5.3 billion upgrade of Taiwan's F-16 fighter fleet, and Beijing warned that the step would damage Sino-American military and security links.
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