BEIJING, 8 March, 2021 (TON): On Sunday, China urged the U.S. to remove unreasonable restraints on cooperation and step forward to work together on issues like climate change.

Speaking at his annual news conference, the Chinese government's top diplomat, State Councilor Wang Yi, struck a tough line even as he outlined where the world's two biggest economies could work together.

Questioned about recent US-China frictions over Taiwan, Xinjiang and the disputed South China Sea, Wang said Beijing "will never accept baseless accusations and smears".

The United States had used democracy and human rights as a basis for arbitrarily interfering with other countries' affairs, he said. "The US should realize this as soon as possible; otherwise the world will continue to experience instability."

"It is hoped that the United States and China will meet each other halfway and lift the various unreasonable restrictions placed on Sino-US cooperation to date as soon as possible, and not create new obstacles artificially," he added.

These remarks appeared after U.S. President Biden spoke about his country’s growing rivalry with China, while his top diplomat described China as the biggest geopolitical test of the century.

Although China accused Washington of spreading chaos in the name of democracy while referring to the treatment of the minority Muslims in China and China’s boosted plans for the century, China is likely to manage the differences between the two sides and that both together should advocate healthy competition.