WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States and China will undergo a new test in their increasingly difficult relationships when top officials from both countries meet in Alaska.
Ties between the world’s two largest economies have been torn for years and the Biden administration has yet to indicate that it is ready or willing to come back to the tough positions taken under President Donald Trump. China has also not indicated its willingness to ease the pressure it has exerted. Thus, the stage is set for a controversial first personal meeting on Thursday.
State Secretary Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet China’s top two diplomats, State Councilor Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi, head of foreign affairs for the Chinese Communist Party, in Anchorage, Alaska. Tough discussions are expected on trade, human rights in Tibet, Hong Kong, China’s western Xinjiang region, Taiwan, Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea and the coronavirus pandemic.
No appointments are expected.
“This is really a one-time meeting,” said a senior official. “This is not the resumption of a particular dialogue mechanism or the beginning of a dialogue process.” The officer informed reporters prior to the meeting on condition of anonymity.
Blinken will attend the meeting as he has just come from Japan and South Korea, where he and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin promoted the Biden administration’s commitment to its allies in Asia.
Just a day before the meeting, Blinken announced new sanctions for officials over China’s crackdown on pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong. In response, the Chinese have stepped up their rhetoric against US interference in domestic affairs.
Not unexpectedly, China condemned US criticism of the move to empower a pro-Beijing committee to appoint more lawmakers in Hong Kong, reducing the proportion of those directly elected and ensuring that only those who are determined to be truly loyal to Beijing. stand as candidates – effectively keep opposition figures out of the political process.
The imposition of sanctions “fully exposes the US’s sinister intention to interfere in China’s internal affairs, disrupt Hong Kong and hinder China’s stability and development,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman. , Zhao Lijian, to reporters during a daily briefing Wednesday.
The White House had low expectations for the meeting of Blinken and Sullivan, which officials say will be a first opportunity to address intense disagreements.
The senior government official described the talks as an opportunity for the two sides to take stock. The official said the two sides would not make a joint statement after the meeting and no major announcements are expected to emerge from the talks.
The Chinese ambassador to the US also downplayed expectations for the Alaska meeting in comments to the Chinese media on Wednesday, hoping it would pave the way for better communication.
“Of course we do not expect one round of dialogue to resolve all issues between China and the US and we do not have too high expectations,” said Cui Tiankai in a transcript of his commentary on the embassy’s website.
“My wish is that this can be a start and that the two sides can begin a dialogue process that is frank, constructive and realistic,” said Cui. “If we can achieve that, I think this exchange will be successful.”
Blinken, in Japan before leaving for South Korea and Alaska, said the US “pushes back when necessary when China uses coercion or aggression to get its way.”
“The relationship with China is very complex,” he said. “It has contradictory aspects; it has competitive aspects; it has cooperative aspects. But the common denominator in dealing with each of these is making sure that we approach China from a position of strength, and that strength starts with our alliance, with our solidarity, because it’s really a unique asset that we have and China doesn’t it. “
The Chinese are not withdrawing.
On Wednesday at the United Nations, they overturned the US human rights record, citing what they called US failures against COVID-19 that cost “hundreds of thousands of lives,” as well as racial discrimination, police brutality and a “malicious past. of genocide. ”Jiang Duan, an adviser to the Chinese mission in Geneva, criticized the conclusion of an inquiry into the track record of US rights in the UN Human Rights Council.
The government has held a series of talks with Pacific allies, including Biden’s virtual summit with the leaders of the Quad – Australia, India, Japan and the United States – before entering high-level talks with China.
Trump took pride in forging what he saw as a strong relationship with Xi Jinping. But the relationship fell apart after the coronavirus pandemic spread across the world from Wuhan province, causing a public health and economic disaster.
In addition to pushing back China’s aggressiveness in the Indo-Pacific and its human rights record, Biden faces other thorny issues in the relationship.
But so far, he has refused to lift hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs that Trump has imposed on China, or lift the ban on Chinese apps.
However, Biden is looking for China’s cooperation to pressure North Korean Kim Jong Un over his country’s nuclear program.
Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington, Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Zen Soo in Hong Kong contributed to this report.