China on Wednesday told the US that the bilateral ties are facing “new difficulties,” urging Washington to “stop interfering” in its internal affairs.

It came during a phone conversation between Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

“Since the beginning of the year, Sino-US relations have encountered new difficulties and challenges, and the responsibility is clear,” Qin told his US counterpart.

“The US is urged to take practical actions to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and the relevant commitments made by the US and effectively manage differences and get China-US relations back on track to healthy and stable development,” Qin was quoted as saying in the readout from Beijing.

Clarifying China’s firm stance on core issues including on Taiwan, the Chinese foreign minister emphasized that the US “should stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop harming China’s sovereign security and development interests in the name of rivalry.”

The phone call came amid unconfirmed reports of Blinken’s visit to Beijing. The request for the call came from Washington, Beijing said.

“China has always viewed and handled Sino-US relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation as put forward by President Xi Jinping,” said Qin.

Washington should respect Beijing’s core issues, “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop undermining China’s sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition,” Qin further said.

Blinken said on Twitter that he discussed with Qin the “ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication as well as bilateral and global issues.”