White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Wednesday that the US will receive Chinese officials next week in Anchorage, Alaska, for the first substantial bilateral talks under President Biden.
The meeting will take place on March 18 or 19 with Secretary of State Tony Blinken and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and senior Chinese officials, including Secretary of State Wang Yi.
“It was important to us that this government’s first meeting with Chinese officials on US soil was held and took place after we met and closely consulted partners and allies in both Asia and Europe,” Psaki said at her daily press conference .
“The meeting is an opportunity to address a wide variety of issues, including those where we have major disagreements,” said Psaki.
“We intend to discuss our expectations and we will openly explain Beijing’s actions and behavior … and our concerns about the challenges they pose to the security and values of the United States and our allies and partners.”
Psaki said there will also be talks about cooperation with China.
“We also talk about areas where we can work together – of mutual interests. And of course we come to these discussions with clear eyes, ”she said.
The meeting also provides an opportunity to highlight how the United States will stand up for the rules-based international system and a free and open Indo-Pacific. As the President has said, we approach our relationship with the Chinese from a strong position in close liaison with our allies and partners. “
Biden had an introductory phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month. So far, Biden has maintained many of former President Donald Trump’s policies towards China. He has not eased tariffs on Chinese goods or eased sanctions against officials.
Trump claimed during the presidential campaign that China would “own” the US if Biden won, in part because of his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings in China.
As president, Trump initially cultivated a personal relationship with Xi and joked that he would want to make himself “ president for life, ” as the communist leader had done.
But the bond soured after Trump waged a trade war to force a deal to reform economic policy. The Trump administration also tried to convince allies to ban Chinese telecom company Huawei from 5G infrastructure projects over security concerns.
US-China relations plunged last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump has approved sanctions against Chinese officials for eliminating Hong Kong’s political autonomy and for mistreating Uyghur Muslims. He pledged to ‘unlink’ the US and China economically in response to deception in early data on COVID-19.
Trump beat Biden last month for rejoining the World Health Organization without insisting that China would pay a higher share of WHO spending. Trump left the organization over the acceptance of false Chinese data on COVID-19 before the virus spread and caused an economically devastating and deadly pandemic.