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Diplomatic customs were forgotten after a few minutes. For the first time, the new US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, met with his Chinese colleague Yang Jiechi. Instead of the usual jokes, an open discussion broke out in front of reporters at the beginning of the meeting in Anchorage, Alaska.
In reality, only two-minute-long opening statements were intended for both parties, after which the real talks should begin without the press. Blinken also stuck to the schedule, but passed it on to Beijing: “We will address our deep concerns about China’s behavior in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan, cyberattacks against the United States, and economic pressures on our allies.”
That in turn did not want to leave his counterpart Yang on his feet and attacked the United States in a speech of more than 15 minutes. In it, he denied the United States, among other things, a global leadership role and warned them against “interfering in China’s internal affairs.” It is likely headed to Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Then the first journalists were removed from the room until Blinken intervened, who had meanwhile heard the translation of the attacks into Chinese. “One moment,” said the foreign minister, noting that the representatives of the press should remain in place. Afterwards, he himself commented extensively on the individual allegations. What was scheduled as a short press conference ended up taking more than an hour.
A senior US representative commented accordingly: “The Chinese delegation seems to have come with the goal of participating in the show and putting public theater above substance.” .
Hostile – if necessary
In any case, there is no shortage of conflicting topics in the talks. The United States criticizes China, among other things, for ignoring the human rights of Uighurs in Xinjiang and Hong Kong citizens, for unfair business practices, cyberattacks and Beijing’s urgency to expand into the Indo-Pacific region. China, on the other hand, rejects criticism from the United States for meddling in internal affairs and, for example, calls for the lifting of punitive tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump. Beijing is also calling for an end to support for Taiwan, which China considers part of the People’s Republic. On other issues, such as the fight against climate change, the two governments want to work together at least in principle.
A senior US government representative had made the meeting’s tenor clear beforehand, quoting Blinken: “Relations with China will be competitive if necessary, cooperative if possible and hostile if necessary.”
The United States insisted on meeting on American soil
The meeting was attended by Blinken and Yang, the top foreign policy leader of the Communist Party, as well as Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is subordinate to the Chinese power apparatus, and Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The US government said it had insisted that the meeting take place on US soil.
Relations between the United States and China, the two largest economies, had fallen under Trump to their worst level since diplomatic relations began in 1979. The Biden administration is now taking a less aggressive tone, but it leaves no doubt that China is seen as a rival. The Biden administration also wants to coordinate more closely with democratic allies in Asia and Europe on China. In addition, Biden has announced that he will again campaign for the promotion of democracy and human rights in foreign policy around the world.
The US government this week imposed new sanctions on 24 other Chinese and Hong Kong politicians and officials due to Hong Kong’s controversial electoral reform. The Beijing People’s Congress voted last week in favor of reform in the China Special Administrative Region, in which Beijing is cracking down on the democratic movement. According to critics, the new law would drastically reduce the influence of the opposition and strengthen the pro-Beijing camp.
