The US and China began the first high-level in-person talks of the Biden administration in Anchorage, Alaska, on Thursday. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
As expected, the talks were contentious, and the two sides traded barbs in opening remarks in front of reporters. Blinken set a hostile tone and opened the talks by saying actions by China “threaten” the US-led “rules-based order.”
“We will … discuss our deep concerns with actions by China, including in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, cyber attacks on the United States, economic coercion of our allies,” he said. “Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability.”
Sullivan then chimed in and said, “Secretary Blinken laid out many of the areas of concern: from economic and military coercion to assaults on basic values that we will discuss with you today and in the days ahead.” Sullivan said the US does “not seek conflict” but will “always stand up for our principles.”
Yang hit back. “The United States uses its military force and financial hegemony to carry out long arm jurisdiction and suppress other countries,” he said. “It abuses so-called notions of national security to obstruct normal trade exchanges, and incite some countries to attack China.”
But Yang also offered an olive branch and said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping hope the US and China can cooperate. “The way we see the relationship with the United States is as President Xi Jinping has said, that is we hope to see no confrontation, no conflict, mutual respect and win-win cooperation with the United States,” he said.
According to Reuters, the two sides argued over when to dismiss reporters, and what is usually a few minutes of opening remarks in front of journalists for such high-level meetings lasted for over an hour. A US official speaking with reporters after the exchange accused the Chinese side of “grandstanding.”
Since President Biden came into office, Chinese officials have been calling for better relations with the US after the Trump administration’s hostile China policies left US-China relations at their lowest point in decades. But Biden officials have had nothing but harsh words for China, and in the days leading up to the talks, the US took several measures that guaranteed they would be contentious.
Blinken visited Japan and South Korea with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin earlier this week. While meeting with his Japanese and Korean counterparts, Blinken slammed Beijing, accusing China of using “coercion and aggression” in the region. On Wednesday, the US slapped sanctions on 24 Chinese and Hong Kong officials.
The Anchorage talks are expected to last through Friday night. Judging by how they started, little progress is expected to be made.
Earlier this month, Blinken named China as the “biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century.” He said China is the “only country” with power that threatens the current “international system,” making it clear that Washington sees Beijing as a threat to US global hegemony.
Stability is not much of an ideal for China to care about as long as it means the US gets to invent rules to impose on China. If China is so terrible and the US so principled, the US should stop trading with China.
Corporations would really love to have products manufactured here and pay reasonable wages.
Business as usual from Amerika.
Here’s a perfect illustration of the recent blow-up in the deep state Atlantic Council. It’s clear to half of them that China is not going to take it any more; that they’re strong enough (and the US weak enough) to give it right back. So either the fp realists win out or the global hegemons will continue heightening tension, and proxy wars until….
They have passed us militarily, economically. They do not have 1000 bases all over the world, and are not involved in a forever war. Money saved have been invested in their infrastructure, and brought millions out of poverty.
We think in terms of 5 years at a time. China thinks in terms of decades. Sorry. We have given the reins to politicians and military types who have sh*t for brains. From both parties.
Yes to all but the last. The pols & generals are at best 4th level powers (i.e. a pretty face, i.e. “democracy”). The oligarchs rule through the think tanks and then hand it to the National Security Deep State.
Grandstanding? After the US side exceeded the time limits for remarks, they got all pouty when China followed suit. Then, when the American side wanted to dismiss the Chinese reporters, the Chinese side told them to stay so everyone can hear what’s being said.
China OWNS Briben, this is all theater.
No, Washington is following the Trump-established anti-China policy supposedly with new methods, but it’s the same-old “US rules” attitude.
No, Trump had teeth, Briben is play acting.
What “teeth”?
Trump managed to lose the trade war with China, with US importers paying the tariffs not the Chinese, if that is your “teeth.”
“Trump managed to lose the trade war with China, with US consumers paying the tariffs not the Chinese”
Fixed, no charge.
Thanks. I thought of that later, but sooner is better than later every time.
The US lies and weakness are openly reported for the world to see.
example (adding to others noted here):
The US charges China with militarizing the South China Sea, while the US takes pride in, and brags about, sailing its naval ships in China territorial waters, in the Taiwan Strait and in the SCS open sea.
As I read in a different article on Antiwar.Com, the U.S. supplies arms and weapons to the African continent while China builds bridges and infrastructure. The essential problem is that U.S. foreign policy pays too much attention to arms dealers, and not enough attention to bridge builders.
” rules-based order that maintains global stability.””
i’m 62m semi-well educated and this has to be one of the most incredulous, silly, idiotic things i’ve ever heard..
What we have is a global neighborhood of rival gangs/allies where might rules and the rule of law is myopic.
We have this infantile selfish drive to be the King of the HIll for $ and ego by the powerful using nations for their selfish agendas. Which is always more power for them and less for everyone else.
China is passing the usa and we all know it.
i have a better idea with nations. We give them all one vote. Give them Direct Democracy and see how it works(collective intelligence). It is the evolutionally thing to do.
It is our only salvation!
One of Pompeo’s inventions.
No, it goes straight back to FDR’s Plan-D.
https://www.indianpunchline.com/why-us-senators-are-upset-with-modi-govt/
Why US Senators are Upset with Modi.
The widespread issuance of H1-B visas to all Indian comers is conspicuous by its absence per this article.
If you’re a US senator or representative wanting it both ways, you support cheaper labor within US shores as well as exporting US agricultural products and US-produced military weapons to India.
If you’re an India prime minister, your preference might sway toward de-dollarizing. Unfortunately, the cheap labor export solution has set many undesirable policies in motion.
removed by poster