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American and Chinese officials have clashed during their first face-to-face meeting since Joe Biden became president.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Communist Party of China foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi shared with journalists their markedly different views on each other and the world at the beginning of the two-day talks in Alaska.
Relations between the world’s two largest economies were already strained before the two met thanks to trade disputes, the coronavirus pandemic, Beijing’s assertiveness on the South China Sea and human rights in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
Mr. Blinken said that China’s actions “threaten the rule-based order that maintains global stability,” adding: “That is why they are not merely internal matters, and that is why we feel an obligation to raise these issues here today. “.
But Mr. Yang would not say anything, spoke for more than 15 minutes and criticized American democracy, its treatment of minorities, and its foreign and trade policies.
He said the United States should “change its own image and stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world,” adding: “A lot of people inside the United States actually have little confidence in America’s democracy.”
He said US officials had spoken for too long in their opening remarks, were “inhospitable” and carried out “unreasonable attacks and accusations of China’s internal and external policies and sparked disputes.”
Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi arrive at talks in the US state of Alaska
He added: “The United States uses its military force and financial hegemony to carry out a long-arm jurisdiction and repress other countries.”
“It abuses the so-called notions of national security to obstruct normal commercial exchanges and incites some countries to attack China.”
“Let me say here that vis-à-vis the Chinese side, the United States does not have the qualification to say that it wants to speak to China from a position of strength … the American side was not even qualified to say such things even 20 or 30 years ago, because this is not the way to deal with the Chinese people. “
Mr. Blinken appeared annoyed, saying: “The Chinese delegation … seems to have come with the intention of being bombastic, focusing on public theatricality and dramaturgy on substance.”
He added: “I am hearing deep satisfaction that America is back, that we are engaged again.
“I also hear deep concern about some of the actions your government is taking.”
The United States has said it will work with China when it is beneficial, such as for climate change policy.
Biden became president of the United States in January and his administration has yet to formulate its policy toward China, but they have pledged to work with China when beneficial, citing climate change and the coronavirus pandemic as examples.
Blinken also said he hoped China would convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons.
The administration has not said how it will handle the tariffs that were applied to Chinese goods under its predecessor Donald Trump.
However, they have made it clear that they will pay more attention to democratic values and accusations of human rights abuses by China.
Just a few days ago, Blinken announced new sanctions for Beijing’s crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong, prompting China’s State Councilor Wang Yi to say: “Certainly this is miscalculated and only reflects vulnerability and weakness within the United States and it will not tremble. ” China’s position or resolution on these issues. “
A US official summed up the mood before the talks began by saying, “We expect a lot of these talks to be pretty, pretty tough.”
