Alaska Meetings Show No Sudden Improvement In Bilateral Relations

The meeting held yesterday involving US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, China's Foreign Secretary Wang Yi, and Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office Yang Jiechi, did little to indicate any imminent improvement in Sino-American relations. Indeed the barbs traded by officials on both sides shows that there may be little prospect of any notable progress towards cooperation, or indeed even away from escalating conflict.

• Sullivan said "We do not seek conflict, but we welcome stiff competition, and we will always stand up for our principles, for our people, and for our friends,". Blinken stated that the US would not stop 'holding China accountable...in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan, cyber attacks on the United States, and economic coercion toward our allies."
• Yang: "with Xinjiang, Tibet, and Taiwan, they are an inalienable part of China's territory. China is firmly opposed to U.S. interference in China's internal affairs. We have expressed our staunch opposition to such interference and we will take firm actions in response."
• Wang: "...the tone of the U.S. side...isn't this the intention of United States...that it wants to speak to China in a condescending way from a position of strength?.... the United States does not have the qualification to say that it wants to speak to China from a position of strength."