Pompeo visit to China kicks off with frosty exchange

A meeting of top U.S. and Chinese diplomats got off to a frosty start on Monday, with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang taking each other to task amid worsening bilateral relations.

“Recently, as the U.S. side has been constantly escalating trade friction toward China, it has also adopted a series of actions on the Taiwan issue that harm China’s rights, and has made groundless criticism of China’s domestic and foreign policies,” Wang said at a joint appearance with Pompeo.

Pompeo, who was briefing Wang following his visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said: “The issues that you characterised we have a fundamental disagreement. We have great concerns about the actions that China has taken.”

(Reporting by Michael Martina Writing by Tony Munroe Editing by Paul Tait)