Top US and Chinese officials on Thursday offered sharply different views of each other and the world as the two sides met face-to-face for the first time since US President Joe Biden took office.
In unusually pointed public remarks for a staid diplomatic meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Central Foreign Affairs Commission Director Yang Jiechi (楊潔篪) took aim at each other’s country’s policies at the start of the two-days talks in Alaska. The contentious tone of their public comments suggested that private discussions would be even more rocky.
The meetings in Anchorage were a new test in increasingly troubled relations between the two countries, which are at odds over a range of issues from trade to human rights in Tibet, Hong Kong and China’s Xinjiang region, as well as over Taiwan, China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: AP
Blinken said that the Biden administration is united with its allies in pushing back against China’s increasing authoritarianism and assertiveness at home and abroad.
“Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability,” Blinken said of China’s posturing toward Taiwan, and actions in Xinjiang and in Hong Kong, as well as of cyberattacks on the US and economic coercion against US allies. “That’s why they’re not merely internal matters, and why we feel an obligation to raise these issues here today.”
Yang responded angrily toward remarks by Blinken and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and demanded that the US stop pushing “its own version of democracy” at a time when the US itself has been roiled by domestic discontent.
Blinken appeared to be annoyed by the tenor and length of the comments, which went on for more than 15 minutes.
He said his impressions from speaking with world leaders and on his trip to Japan and South Korea earlier this week were entirely different from the Chinese position.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei yesterday thanked the US for highlighting Taiwan and making clear its position toward the Chinese officials.
Since Biden took office in January, US officials have reiterated their commitment to the US’ Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” while stressing their commitment as “rock solid,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement yesterday.
Washington had given Taiwan a detailed briefing on its plan for the meeting and promised to provide feedback afterward, she said, adding that this was proof of strong mutual trust.
The ministry would continue to work closely with the Biden administration to promote peace, stability and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and in the Indo-Pacific region, Ou said.
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