"We are committed to maintaining and strengthening lines of communication to advance this agenda and again to deal responsibly with our differences, so that we can avoid any miscommunication, any misunderstandings, any miscalculations," the top US diplomat said of progress on bilateral cooperation, including on military-to-military communications, counternarcotics and artificial intelligence. Blinken said, however, that he had made clear to Xi Jinping Washington's concerns about Beijing's provision of materiel to Moscow, including machine tools and microelectronics, that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using to bolster his country's defense and war effort in Ukraine. "Russia would have a hard time sustaining its aggression against Ukraine without the support of China," Blinken told reporters after meeting Xi, according to a quote released by the US news agency AP. For Blinken, "feeding Russia's defense industrial base not only threatens Ukraine's security, but also threatens European security." "As we have said consistently to China for some time now, ensuring transatlantic security is a fundamental interest of the United States. I made clear in our discussions today that China does not have a blank check," he added. China was also urged to use its influence "to discourage Iran and its proxies from further escalating tensions in the Middle East" and to convince North Korea "to end its dangerous behavior and begin dialogue," the US secretary of state said. Today's meeting also addressed China's maritime maneuvers in the disputed South China Sea, with the US reiterating its "ironclad" support for the Philippines, its oldest ally in Asia. For his part, Xi stressed in the same meeting that China and the US should seek common ground "instead of engaging in fierce competition." "China is happy to see a confident, open, prosperous and progressing United States," the Chinese leader said. "We hope the United States can also view China's development in a positive light. This is a fundamental issue that must be addressed," he added. During his three-day trip to the Asian giant, Blinken also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong. Blinken arrived in China on Wednesday, visiting Shanghai shortly before US President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that includes several elements likely to irk Beijing, including $8 billion to counter China's growing assertiveness toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. The package also seeks to force the Chinese-owned parent company of the social media platform TikTok to sell the app. China has protested the US aid to Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own, immediately calling it a dangerous provocation. It also strongly opposes efforts to force the sale of TikTok. The package also allocates $61 billion in military and financial assistance to Ukraine to combat the Russian invasion that began in February 2022. US officials have said that China's ties with Russia would be a major topic of conversation during Blinken's visit, and shortly before Friday's meetings began, Putin announced that he would visit China in May. Read Also: Chinese MFA warns Blinken of risk of deterioration in relations with the US (Portuguese version)