US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed for accountability on human rights abuses, particularly in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong while talking to senior Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi.

"I made clear the US will defend our national interests, stand for our democratic values and hold Beijing accountable for its abuses of the international system," said Blinken.

Beijing will be held "accountable for its efforts to threaten stability in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan strait and its undermining of the rules-based international system," he added.