‘Don’t underestimate us’: US-China ‘fundamentally at odds’
Washington: President Joe Biden has declared he is proud of his top diplomat for standing up to Chinese officials during a heated meeting in Alaska, as China’s foreign minister issued a blunt warning to the US not to underestimate China’s willingness to defend its territory.
The first in-person US-China talks since Biden’s inauguration concluded in Alaska on Saturday (AEDT) with less public acrimony than the previous day, when top officials from the rival superpowers verbally jousted on camera.
But there was no sign the two sides had moved any closer to resolving the deep differences between them – including China’s economic pressure campaign against Australia.
“We certainly know and knew going in that there are a number of areas where we are fundamentally at odds, including China’s actions in Xinjinag, with regard to Hong Kong, Tibet, increasingly Taiwan, as well as actions it is taking in cyberspace,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after the talks concluded.
“It’s no surprise that when we raised those issues clearly and directly, we got a defensive response. But we were also able to have a very candid conversation over these many hours on an expansive agenda.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, listens as National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, right, talks to the media after a closed-door morning session of US-China talks in Anchorage.Credit:AFP
Blinken said he believed that two nation’s interests intersect when it comes to climate change, Iran, North Korea, and Afghanistan, leaving room for future co-operation on those issues.
Asked to comment on the war of words the previous day, Biden told reporters at the White House: “I’m very proud of the Secretary of State.”
Speaking after the talks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said: “We hope the United States is not going to underestimate China’s determination to defend its territory, to safeguard its people and maintain its righteous interests.”
Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi, right, and China’s State Councilor Wang Yi, at the Alaska talks. Credit:AP
Speaking after the talks, Yang said the talks had been “direct, frank and constructive”.
“But there are so many major differences sitting between the two sides,” he added. “China is going to safeguard our national sovereignty, security and our interest to develop.”
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said: “We expected to have tough and direct talks on a wide range of issues and that is exactly what we had. We had the opportunity lay out our priorities and intentions and to hear form the Chinese side their priorities and intentions.”
“We were clear-eyed going in and we’re clear-eyed coming out.“
Sullivan said he and his colleagues would “go back to Washington and continue to take stock of where we are” as well as consulting with allies.
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