The United States must stop suppressing China’s development and should not continue the “old routine of unilateral bullying”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In the latest phone correspondence between the two leaders, Wang said the United States must pay attention to China’s legitimate concerns, stop curbing and suppressing its development, and not constantly challenge China’s red line in a “salami-slicing” way. He was referring to the tactic of using a series of small actions to achieve a much larger result that would be difficult to achieve with a single large action.

The remarks by Wang underscored Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with US President Joe Biden at the G20 summit in Bali last month where they discussed a number of hot-button issues, including Taiwan. It was their first in-person talks since 2017.

China considers Taiwan its own territory and believes the United States is slowly chipping away at its core interests and challenging its bottom line, while being careful to avoid a single drastic action that could give China a clear reason to react with full force.

Biden had raised objections to China’s “coercive and increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan,” which he said undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader region, and jeopardised global prosperity.

Xi called it the “first red line” that must not be crossed in China-US relations.

In the phone call with Blinken, Wang stressed that the two sides should focus on translating the Bali consensus of the two heads of state into practical policies and concrete actions, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry on Friday.

“It is necessary to step up consultations on the guiding principles of China-U.S. relations, promote dialogue at all levels, and resolve specific issues between the two countries through joint working groups,” Wang said.