US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the translator should get a raise.
Anchorage, Alaska:
Amid a heated start to the Biden administration’s first high-level face-to-face talks between China and the United States, the two countries’ top diplomats found a brief moment to exchange jokes about translators.
After US Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened with harsh remarks at their meeting at an Anchorage hotel, China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi responded with a 15-minute speech in Chinese as the US side waited. the translation.
In the end, Yang smiled and said, “This is a test for the translator,” in English.
Blinken said the translator should get a raise.
Yang, educated in Britain and a former ambassador to Washington, speaks perfect English and is known for scaring Chinese translators at times by correcting their words.
Both Yang and State Councilor Wang Yi, who is also participating in the talks, are known for their strong public defenses of China.
However, a widely shared video clip on Chinese social media of the conversations showed a softer side of the two.
Wang turned to ask Yang as they walked down a corridor at the Anchorage Hotel if he had eaten lunch.
“I ate instant noodles,” Yang replied.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
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