The Biden Administration clashed with Chinese diplomats last week during the first high-level meeting with China since Biden’s inauguration.
Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi accused the United States of speaking to China in a “condescending way from a position of strength” after Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concerns about China’s behavior in Hong Kong and China, its cyberattacks on the US, its economic coercion towards US allies, and its religious persecution of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
“Each of these actions threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability,” said Blinken. “That’s why they’re not merely internal matters and why we feel an obligation to raise these issues here today.”
Blinken reminded China that our relationship is voluntary and acknowledged that the US had made mistakes.
Yang reminded Blinken that China opposes any US interference in its internal affairs. He also criticized the US for using military might and financial clout to pressure other countries.
Yang also claimed that China had made “steady progress” in human rights. “The fact is, that there are many problems within the United States regarding human rights,” he said. “The challenges facing the United States in human rights are deep-seated, they did not just emerge over the past year – such as Black Lives Matter – it did not come up only recently, so we do hope for our two countries it’s important that we manage our respective affairs well instead of deflecting the blame on somebody else.”
Blinken, who clearly wanted to have the last word, said the US was “committed to leading with diplomacy to advance the interests of the US and to strengthen the rules-based international order” and hinted that China is aiming for a “world in which might makes right and winners take all…and that would be a far more violent and unstable world for all of us.”
Reporters heard the ill-tempered remarks and they remained in the room longer than usual.
In remarks after the meeting, Blinken said: “I said that the US relationship with China will be competitive where it should be, collaborative where it can be, adversarial where it must be…Our interest is to be direct about our concerns, direct about our priorities, with the goal of a more clear-eyed relationship between our countries moving forward.”
President Biden, who is currently touring CDC headquarters in Atlanta, said he was “very proud” of Blinken for standing up to Chinese officials during the meeting, but the frosty exchange does not bode well for Administration’s plans to cooperate with Beijing on climate change, nuclear nonproliferation, and other shared interests.
Author’s Note: Biden may be proud of Blinken, but this was not a successful meeting with China. The Biden Administration wants to combine all of its progressive criticisms of China with legitimate trade interests, but China is unlikely to cooperate with us if we are trying to interfere in its internal affairs.
In the meantime, China is working 24/7 to undermine our global influence. Biden has just put us in a sort of stalemate with China, which they will maintain and utilize for negotiations.
Editor’s Note: Trump confronts everyone, but he knows how to maneuver and leave the door open for negotiation. Biden just slammed it shut.
Sources:
US tells China it does not seek conflict; but will stand up for principles, friends
Biden says he’s proud of secretary of State after confrontation with China
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