Alaska Talks Set To Begin Amid Sanctions Row

Talks involving senior US and Chinese officials are due to get underway in the coming hours in the city of Anchorage, Alaska.

• US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan are due to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office Yang Jiechi (the most senior diplomat in the Chinese Communist Party).
• The loose plan according to Politico is for three three-hour sessions to take place over Thursday and Friday,
• This is the first meeting of senior US and Chinese officials since US President Joe Biden came to office.
• The talks get off on a difficult footing, with the US imposing sanctions yesterday on a number of Hong Kong and Chinese individuals - including a member of the politburo - under the powers of the Hong Kong Autonomy Act.
• The imposition of sanctions so close to the talks raised the prospect of cancellation by Beijing, but this has not yet occurred.
• Little concrete progress is expected, with the talks a chance to air grievances and potentially seek to set up further high-level talks in the future.