Clinton discussed Taiwan arms sale, Syria with Chinese FM

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed late on Monday with her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi the arms sales to Taiwan and increasing pressure on the Syrian regime. "Secretary Clinton began by stating clearly our overarching framework, a desire for a strong, comprehensive, robust relationship between the United States and China. She also underscored the hard work that had been done by the Obama Administration over the course of the last few years and our determination to continue that good work, and to see US-China relations progress in the period ahead", said a senior State Department official in a press briefing. He added that Yang "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". US arm sales to Taiwan, an amount of USD 5.3 billion, has been straining US-Chinese relations as Beijing has said it will stop some of the military to military activities with the Washington since the US Congress was notified of the upgrade plan last week. "Secretary Clinton responded very clearly that the United States had a strategic interest in the maintenance and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and that the Taiwan Relations Act is quite clear that it provides for a strong rationale for the provision of defensive capabilities and weapons to Taiwan as part of a larger context to preserve that peace and stability", noted the US official. He added that Clinton "underscored her view that, in fact, it was the confidence that - the strong support of the United States that had provided Taiwan with the confidence to reach out in diplomacy with Beijing over the course of the last several years". The State Department official said that Clinton "underscored the American desire to see China take appropriate steps with respect to Syria, in the Security Council resolution, the Secretary indicated that the process that we saw with respect to Syria is quite different from what had transpired earlier in the year with respect to Libya and sought the strong support of China in this regard".