ISTANBUL

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his new US counterpart Marco Rubio Friday held their first phone call to discuss bilateral ties, according to a readout from Beijing.

The two sides should maintain communications, manage differences, and expand cooperation to promote the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-US relations, Wang told Rubio, who was sworn on Tuesday.

Rubio is the new secretary of state as Donald Trump returned to the White House Monday for a non-consecutive second term.

“Our goal is to improve the lives of our people and make greater contributions to the world. We have no intention of surpassing or replacing anyone, but we must defend our legitimate right to development," Wang told Rubio about the Chinese Communist Party.

The Chinese side raised the Taiwan issue and asked the US to “handle it with caution,” the statement added.

Rubio responded, saying: “The United States does not support ‘Taiwan independence’ and hopes that the Taiwan issue can be peacefully resolved in a way that is acceptable to both sides of the Taiwan Strait.”

“I hope you will play a constructive role for the future of the Chinese and American peoples and for world peace and stability,” Wang told Rubio.

This was the first call between the two since Rubio assumed his role and also the first since Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump held a phone talk last Friday.

Xi sent Vice President Han Zheng to Washington to represent China during Trump’s inauguration.

Rubio is a known China hawk, once calling the world's second-largest economy "the most potent, dangerous and near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted."

China sanctioned top US Republicans in 2020, including Rubio, after Washington imposed sanctions on Chinese officials for alleged human rights abuses in its northwestern Xinjiang province as well as in Hong Kong.

Soon after the Trump administration inauguration, China, however, had signaled openness to engage with Rubio, saying it was necessary "for high-level officials Chinese and American officials to maintain contact in an appropriate way.