Top US and Chinese officials offered sharply different views of each other and the world on Thursday as the two sides met face-to-face for the first time since President Joe Biden took office.
In unusually pointed remarks for a staid diplomatic meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi took aim at each other's country's policies at the start of two days of talks in Alaska. The contentious tone of their public comments suggested the 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 western Xinjiang region, as well as over Taiwan, China's assertiveness in the South China Sea and the coronavirus pandemic.
Blinken said the Biden administration is united with its allies in pushing back against China's increasing authoritarianism and assertiveness at home and abroad.
Yang then unloaded a list of Chinese complaints about the US and accused Washington of hypocrisy for criticising Beijing on human rights and other issues.
바카라Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability,바카라 Blinken said of China's actions in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and of cyber attacks on the United States and economic coercion against US allies. 바카라That's why they're not merely internal matters, and why we feel an obligation to raise these issues here today.바카라
Yang responded by demanding the US stop pushing its own version of democracy at a time when the United States itself has been roiled by domestic discontent. He also accused the US of failing to deal with its own human rights problems and took issue with what he said was 바카라condescension바카라 from Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and other US officials.
바카라We believe that it is important for the United States to change its own image and to stop advancing its own democracy in the rest of the world,바카라 he said. 바카라Many people within the United States actually have little confidence in the democracy of the United States.바카라
바카라China will not accept unwarranted accusations from the US side,바카라 he said, adding that recent developments had plunged relations 바카라into a period of unprecedented difficulty바카라 that 바카라has damaged the interests of our two peoples.바카라
"There is no way to strangle China," he said.
Blinken seemed taken aback by the tenor and length of the comments, which went on for more than 10 minutes. He said his impressions from speaking with world leaders and on his just-concluded trip to Japan and South Korea were entirely different from the Chinese position.
바카라I'm hearing deep satisfaction that the United States is back, that we're reengaged,바카라 Blinken retorted. 바카라I'm also hearing deep concern about some of the actions your government is taking.바카라
Underscoring the animosity, the State Department blasted the Chinese delegation for violating an agreed-upon two-minute time limit for opening statements and suggested it 바카라seem(ed) to have arrived intent on grandstanding, focused on public theatrics and dramatics over substance.바카라
바카라America's approach will be undergirded by confidence in our dealing with Beijing 바카라 which we are doing from a position of strength 바카라 even as we have the humility to know that we are a country eternally striving to become a more perfect union,바카라 it said.
US-China ties have been torn for years, and the Biden administration has yet to signal whether it's ready or willing to back away from the hard-line stances taken under Donald Trump.
Just a day before the meeting, Blinken had announced new sanctions over Beijing's crackdown on pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong. In response, China stepped up its rhetoric opposing US interference in domestic affairs and complained directly about it.
바카라Is this a decision made by the United States to try to gain some advantage in dealing with China?" Yang asked. "Certainly, this is miscalculated and only reflects the vulnerability and weakness inside the United States and it will not shake China's position or resolve on those issues.바카라
Trump had taken pride in forging what he saw as a strong relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. But the relationship disintegrated after the coronavirus pandemic spread from the Wuhan province across the globe and unleashed a public health and economic disaster.
