Mr Wen accused Washington of violating China's sovereignty when it approved the sale of billions of dollars in weapons to Taiwan in January, and again when US President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama at the White House last month.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated over a series of other issues - Google's threat to leave China over cyberattacks and web censorship, a string of trade disputes, and the value of the Chinese yuan.

Mr Wen, addressing hundreds of reporters at the end of China's annual session of parliament, said relations between the world's biggest and third-largest economies "got off to a good start" after Obama took office in January 2009.

But Washington's moves on self-ruled Taiwan, which China sees as part of its territory, and Obama's meeting with Tibet's exiled spiritual leader had ‘violated China's sovereignty’ and provoked ‘serious disturbances’ in ties.

"The responsibility does not lie with the Chinese side but with the US," Wen said. "We hope the US will face the issues squarely and take concrete steps" to remedy the situation, he added, while declining to offer specifics.

AFP