BEIJING: China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Monday it is imperative to stabilise Sino-US relations after a series of "erroneous words and deeds" threw ties back into a deep freeze.
The relationship between the world's two biggest economies sank to a low last year.
Beijing severed formal communications channels with the United States including one between their militaries.
"The top priority is to stabilise Sino-US relations, avoid a downward spiral and prevent any accidents between China and the United States," Qin told Burns, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement.
The tension between the two superpowers had eased last November when USF and Chinese leaders Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met at a G20 summit in Indonesia and pledged more frequent dialogue.
"A series of erroneous words and deeds by the United States since then have undermined the hard-won positive momentum of Sino-US relations," Qin said.
"The agenda of dialogue and cooperation agreed by the two sides has been disrupted, and the relationship between the two countries has once again encountered cold ice."
Burns, in a post on Twitter about his talks with Qin, also spoke of the need to bring stability to the relationship.
"We discussed challenges in the US-China relationship and the necessity of stabilising ties and expanding high-level communication," Burns said.
Last week, Blinken appeared to offer hope of a visit, telling the Washington Post that it was important to re-establish regular lines of communication at all levels.
Also last week, US climate envoy John Kerry said China had invited him to visit "in the near term" for talks on averting a global climate crisis, further raising hope of resetting one of the world's most important state-to-state relationships.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will visit Europe this week, Beijing said on Monday, as China pushes to act as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict.
Qin will hold meetings with counterparts from Germany, France and Norway from Monday to Friday, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, without giving further details of his itinerary.
Beijing says it is neutral in the Ukraine conflict. The Chinese leader has come under increased pressure from Western nations to step in. — AFP
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